Tycoon Ciputra denies Ancol land swindle

Tycoon Ciputra denies Ancol land swindle

JAKARTA (JP): Property tycoon Ciputra denied on Tuesday
charges by city council members that he had personally profited
from a land deal in Ancol, North Jakarta, in 1992-93, at the
expense of the city administration.

The former chief commissioner of PT Pembangunan Jaya said that
the city administration held 80 percent equity in PT Pembangunan
Jaya Ancol, the subsidiary that supposedly profited from the land
deal in question.

"The land was never bought in the first place. It belonged to
the city administration and was exchanged for an 80 percent stake
in Pembangunan Jaya Ancol," he told reporters.

The administration, he added, did not contribute any capital
to Pembangunan Jaya Ancol.

Pembangunan Jaya, a joint venture in which the city
administration has a 40 percent stake, is the holding company for
PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol (PJA), which developed an exclusive
housing complex near Ancol beach in North Jakarta.

Ciputra, who founded the business group, retired from the post
of chief commissioner five years ago.

The City Council's Commission B on Economic Affairs accused
PJA on Monday of ripping off the city administration by as much
as Rp 271 billion ($28.5 million) from the sales of land plots in
Ancol Timur.

It said that PJA bought the 46-hectare piece of land for Rp 13
billion from the administration, parceled it into smaller plots
and then sold most of it at Rp 800,000 per square meter.

Councillor Ugiek Soegihardjo said that the profit should have
been transferred to the administration's coffers.

The council's accusation prompted Ciputra to visit City Hall
to explain the situation to Governor Sutiyoso. (07)