BHS Bank Owner Declared Suspect in Corruption Case

Hendra Rahardja, the owner of BHS Bank, on Tuesday was declared a suspect in an alleged corruption case that caused the state to lose up to Rp3.8 trillion.

The head of the Jakarta prosecution office, Lukman Bachmid, said a team of prosecutors decided to further investigate the case with the possibility of trial after thorough investigation had been made with Hendra Rahardja, Eko Edy Putranto (Hendra's son and bank commissioner) and Shermy Konyongyang as the suspects.

He said from 1992 to 1997 BHS Bank had been extending loans to PT Prasetya Pertiwi, PT Artha Buana Sakti, PT Gaya Wahana Abadi Sakti, PT Jaya Building, PT Inti Bandung Ady Pratama which were owned by the same bank's owner.

The loans exceeded the maximum limit (BMPK) causing the country to lose more than Rp3.8 trillion, he said. Bachmid said the loans which were extended to the firms came from the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Credit (KLBI), the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) and Bank Indonesia assistance respectively worth Rp337 million, Rp1.57 trillion and Rp2.23 trillion.

The team of prosecutors had already questioned 17 witnesses, including those from Bank Indonesia, BHS Bank, bodies that had extended the loans as well as collected evidence.

"The three suspects are now under search status and if they fail later to attend the court, they will be tried "in absentia," he said.

Bachmid said the prosecution office was cooperating with various government agencies to arrest them.