Committee meets defrauded victims
Members of the parliamentary inquiry committee into the Bank Century bailout met Tuesday with investors defrauded by the bank's management prior to its collapse, and were lambasted for not getting to the heart of the issue.
The investors, who have for more than a year attempted to recover their money, which was not guaranteed in the bailout, were met Tuesday by Gayus Lumbuun from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), one of the committee's deputy chairmen.
"The committee members are beat after the intense inquiries of the past few days," Gayus told the depositors at the start of the hearing.
"So they decided to appoint me as their representative."
The investors were defrauded through a securities scam involving Antaboga Securities, founded by the former Century owner Robert Tantular, now serving five years in prison for the crime.
They had been led to believe they were investing in a banking product endorsed by Century, as it carried the logo of the bank and was sold through Century.
The scam, which cost the investors Rp 1.4 trillion (US$149.8 million), is among the many factors that combined to cause Century's collapse.
The bank was eventually bailed out for Rp 6.76 trillion in November 2008, and has since been rebranded as Bank Mutiara.
The chief representative of the investors, Z. Siput L., urged the House of Representatives' committee to fight for their rights and unmask the irregularities that had plagued the bank and caused them to lose their money.
Half an hour later, PDI-P legislator Maruarar Sirait showed up to the meeting, and in the next 15 minutes, the Democratic Party's Pieter Zulkifli and Didi Irawadi Syamsudin also made an appearance.
Five other committee members later turned up to meet the investors: Akbar Faisal from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), Hendrawan Supratikno (PDI-P), Ahmad Muzani (Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra), Melchias Markus Melkeng (Golkar) and Ruhut Sitompul (Democratic Party).
All 30 members of the committee have been present at previous hearings with high-profile figures such as Vice President Boediono, former vice president Jusuf Kalla and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
The nine legislators at Tuesday's meeting hastened to reassure the defrauded investors that the committee would spare no effort to see that justice was done, particularly after hearing that several investors had committed suicide after losing their money.
Ruhut said he empathized with their suffering, and called Robert a "bastard".
"I want you all to know that this case truly saddens me. I might be known for telling it like it is, but deep down inside I'm as soft as snow."
At the end of the meeting, an emotional Siput handed over the investors' reports and data to the committee, saying they needed concrete action rather than promises.
"Bank Indonesia knew we'd been scammed, but its officials remained silent," he said.
"We're tired of having to fight for our money; we need firm resolution, not drama!"
Siput added the investors had sent a petition to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Finance Minister Mulyani to seek an audience.
"But we've been ignored."
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