Van Der Horst reports bank to police over withdrawal of Rp 5b
Van Der Horst reports bank to police over withdrawal of Rp 5b
JAKARTA (JP): Bank Victoria International was reported to the
police on Tuesday for its refusal to allow a publicly listed
company to withdraw Rp 5 billion of its money.
Prominent businessman Edward S. Soeryadjaya, who has been
president director of PT Van Der Horst since October, said in a
report filed with the Jakarta Police the bank did not have a
legally valid reason to refuse to allow the company to withdraw
the money from its saving account.
The incident took place in October shortly after the company
held an extraordinary shareholders meeting to appoint a new board
of directors.
"Bank Victoria refused our request to withdraw the money with
reasons which are unacceptable by legal standards," Edward said
at police headquarters.
Edward, the former head of collapsed Bank Summa, said the bank
refused to approve the withdrawal because it doubted the
legitimacy of the company's new board of directors.
Accompanied by the company's vice president director, Stefanus
Ginting, Edward said the bank's refusal had destroyed the firm's
reputation.
"(The bank's decision) damaged the trust many businesses in
the country have in our company," Edward said, adding that the
bank should be charged with violating Article 310 of the Criminal
Code on defamation.
Last month, the bank's management was quoted as saying they
would approve the company's request to withdraw the money only
when the new board of directors had a legal basis.
"(We will approve the cash withdrawal) when there is a legal
decision on who is authorized to use the company's savings," bank
director Kepatuhan Wijayanto told Bisnis Indonesia daily.
Wijayanto also said the decision was simply part of the bank's
effort to meet the prudential principles as required in banking
regulations.
"This does not mean the money cannot be withdrawn. The money
and its interest is theirs," Wijayanto added.
The bank made the decision following a dispute between the new
board of directors and legal firm Lucas S.H. & Partners, which
represents the company's public shareholders.
One of the associates at the firm, N.M. Damping, placed an
advertisement in a newspaper protesting the appointment of the
new board of directors at the Oct. 13 shareholders meeting.
The ad said the appointment of the new board was unacceptable
because the vote was taken by an insufficient number of
shareholders. (jaw)