Tempo - Return to Tommy's Humpuss Problematic No. 15/VIII/December 11-17, 2007
National Return to Humpuss The KPK has found a flow of funds from PT Humpuss to Vista Bella for the purchase of Timor Putra Nasional assets. A slippery and convoluted case of business collusion. IT appears that the dispute between the government and Hutomo Mandala Putra alias Tommy Suharto is set to become even more acrimonious. Even though the fight over the Rp612 billion in an account at Bank Paribas in Guernsey, England, has still not been settled, both sides are now fighting tooth and nail over Rp1.3 trillion deposited with Bank Mandiri. Last month, victory seemed almost at hand for Tommy. The judges at the South Jakarta District Court handed him a victory by declaring that he rightfully owned the money in Bank Mandiri. But two weeks ago was the government's turn to cheer. The Jakarta High Court annulled the verdict by the judges from the south. Although the mountain of dirty money is now the property of the government, the battle is set to continue with Tommy preparing to appeal to the Supreme Court. In the midst of this acrimonious dispute, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced a surprising finding. Humpuss had allegedly sponsored PT Vista Bella to buy back PT Timor Putra Nasional's debts held by the Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA). The deal went ahead on April 30, 2003. For just Rp512 billion, Vista Bella bought the debt valued at Rp4.2 trillion. Humpuss is a business group owned by Tommy that is active in a number of fields, including among others trade, coal, petroleum and charter planes. The youngest son of former President Suharto also owns Timor Putra Nasional. If the allegations are true, then the deal between IBRA and Vista can be annulled. Why? Because Article 3 of the agreement states that the purchaser cannot be affiliated with the original owner. Now, if the agreement is annulled, then Timor Putra Nasional's debt will be declared outstanding. Meaning that the company will still have to pay Rp4.2 trillion to the government. With an outstanding debt as large as this, the government's claim on the Rp1.3 trillion in Bank Mandiri will be even stronger. So, "Hopefully Tommy will realize that there is no use in submitting an appeal to the Supreme Court," said Hadiyanto, Director-General of State Assets at the Department of Finance, on Monday last week. Timor Putra Nasional is hemmed in and the government is in a strong position. Now the KPK must work hard to prove that Vista Bella's money actually did originate form Humpuss. THE Timor debt transaction was indeed complex and involved many parties. Vista itself is actually just a local partner of Amazonas Finance and Wedingley Capitaltwo companies owned by investors from Singapore and Venezuelawho took part in the transaction. Amazonas and Wedingley both have their head offices in Singapore. Although convoluted and complex, KPK investigators succeeded in getting wind of the involvement of these companies with the Humpuss Group. KPK Chairman Taufiequrachman Ruki is absolutely certain that the investigators' findings are very strong and are accompanied with authentic evidence. Ruki asserts, "We discovered funds flowing from Humpuss to Vista Bella." Several sources that Tempo spoke to corroborated Ruki's statement. A source that is acquainted with the ins and outs of the transaction said that the funds were transferred in successive lots. According to the source, the money was not transferred directly from Humpuss to Vista Bella, but wound its way through several different companies first. Just take note of the following transactions. In April 2003, Humpuss transferred a sum of money to a certain companyreferred to only by the name PT Mabubawhich is strongly suspected of being affiliated with Humpuss. The money was transferred on two occasions in US dollars. The first transfer amounted to around Rp76 billion and the second around Rp36 billion. So a total of Rp112 billion was transferred and channeled through a number of different banks. >From Mabuba, the money did not go to Vista Bella, but was transferred directly to IBRA. The transfers were made on several different occasions. In late April 2003, for example, Mabuba transferred around Rp17 billion to IBRA through a private bank. After this it was followed by the next transfer. And the Tempo source asserts, "All of the money was transferred in the name of PT Vista Bella." Certainly there was money that flowed directly to Vista Bella, but it was only an agency fee totaling Rp8 billion. The money was transferred in early November 2003. Outside of this flow of funds, evidence was also discovered regarding the connection between Vista Bella and Humpuss. It is strongly suspected that a number of senior PT Mabuba company officials are also senior officials at Humpuss. The source mentioned a Mabuba senior official with the initials BM as being a person at Humpuss. The Humpuss connection in the transaction can also be traced from this Vista Bella partner who originates from overseas. The Tempo source said that a Venezuelan citizen, simply referred to as Carlos Gonzales, who was involved in the transaction, is also linked with Humpuss. Because later on, said the source, Gonzales worked at a marble company with offices in a high-rise building on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta. This company is strongly suspected of still being affiliated with Humpuss. According to the source, KPK investigators should be asking a number of state agencies to reveal evidence about this connection. On the question of whether or not Gonzales works at the Gatot Subroto building, for example, this could be directed to the Department of Labor since it has comprehensive data on all foreign workers in Indonesia. *** THE prolonged and complicated dispute began 14 years ago. In 1993, Tommy Suharto, who is fond of racing cars, established a national car factory. Its name: People's Car Industrial Technologies or Timor for short. The full name of the company later became PT Timor Putra Nasional. Tommy brought KIA Motors, a car manufacturer from South Korea, into the giant project. Suharto, who's rule was still firm at that time, supported his youngest son's plans though a decree dated June 4, 1996. The decree stated that imported cars with a minimum of 60 percent local content would be free from import duties. This was a huge slice of luck for Timor. On June 10, 2006, Bank Bumi Daya issued a loan guarantee for Timor to import 4,000 KIA cars, which were then imported tax-free. To pay off the loan, the profits from the sales of the cars were deposited with Bank Bumi Daya, in an account controlled by Timor. Support for the project continued. In early August 1997 a syndicate of 16 banks hurried to reinforce the huge project. Around Rp4.2 trillion in all was collected from the banks. This money was disbursed without any collateral, with a 10-year loan period at interest of only 3 percent. But then the economic crisis rolled across Indonesia in 1997. In January 1998, on the urging of the International Monetary Fund, Suharto withdrew the national car project. Besieged by the economic crisis, several of the banks that had lent funds to Timor found themselves struggling to stay afloat. Some died at the scene, while others were brought into IBRA's "intensive care unit." The outstanding loans to Timor from these banksRp4.2 trillionwere transferred to IBRA. Along with three other banks, Bank Bumi Daya then merged into Bank Mandiri. The profits from the sale of Timor cars were also transferred there. So then, Tommy now had to deal with two separate parties. For the Rp4.2 trillion debt he had to deal with IBRA, and for the Rp1.3 trillion debt he had to deal with Bank Mandiri. Vista Bella then bought IBRA's debts with PT Timor. Thus Timor was deemed to have fulfilled its debt obligations. This is why Tommy felt he had a right to the Rp1.3 trillion held by Bank Mandiri. But the government held the money back. The Jakarta Customs Office and the Tanah Abang Tax Office sent Timor a tax claim valued at billions of rupiah. Timor then launched a legal challenge against the two agencies. From the district court up to the Supreme Court appeal, Timor won the cases. This is the reason that Timor stubbornly insisted on withdrawing the money. The extraordinary amount of dirty money was almost released during the Ramadan fasting month in 2005. At the time, Bank Mandiri senior officials had ordered bank staff to transfer the money to PT Timor. But on one Ramadan afternoon, a middle-aged man set off for the KPK's offices on Jl. Veteran in Central Jakarta. He was carrying an important story related to the planned release of the Rp1.3 trillion. The man handed over the evidence: a letter from a Bank Mandiri senior official to the asset release section of the government bank to transfer the money immediately. KPK officials tried their utmost to stop the release from proceeding. They then informed Finance Minister Jusuf Anwar. The Minister intervened and the disbursement was thwarted. Senior Timor officials were incensed. They then sued the governmentin this case Bank Mandirithrough the South Jakarta District Court. Although the judge found in Tommy's favor, the High Court subsequently found in favor of the government. Still going nowhere at the Supreme Court, the Tommy camp has now been hit by the debt transaction deal between IBRA and Vista Bella. The government is now ready to make its move. Last week, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani gave power of attorney to the Attorney General to challenge Vista Bella and Humpuss in the courts. The government clearly has some very effective ammunition in the case. "There is a clause in the agreement that states that if Vista Bella commits a violation, the government can annul the transaction," said Sri Mulyani. Tommy's lawyer, OC Kaligis, has condemned Sri Mulyani's statement saying the Finance Minister is one of the parties involved in the case. All of the accusations against Humpuss should be proven legally. "How come the executive is [acting] as if it is above the courts?" said Kaligis. As for the case against Mandiri, Kaligis said they would soon be submitting an appeal to the Supreme Court. It appears that the PT Timor dispute that was sparked 14 years ago will continue to smolder for some while yet. Wenseslaus Manggut, Anton Septian, Arif A. Kuswardono Ins and Outs of the Timor Money August 1995 PT Timor Putra Nasional is established with 99% of the shares owned by Hutomo Mandala Putra. June 1996 Presidential Decree No. 42/1996 on the Production of the National Car is issued, which allows Timor to import around 4,000 KIA cars without paying import tax. August 1997 Timor obtains loans from 16 national bankswhich have now merged into Bank Mandiri. The syndicate of banks headed by Bank Dagang Negara releases US$690 million in loans without collateral, with a 10-year loan period and at interest of only 3%. January 1998 Due to pressure from the IMF, Suharto revokes the presidential decree on the national car. # March-December 1999 The Tanjung Priok Customs Office and the Tanah Abang Tax Office issue a tax claim of around Rp3 trillion in outstanding import taxes on the Timor cars. Timor challenges the order though the Jakarta State Administrative Court. # PT Timor Putra Nasional becomes a "patient" under the care of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA). Timor then surrenders some of its assets to IBRA as collateral on the payment of the Rp4 trillion debt. September 2000 Timor and IBRA sign an MoU on the restructuring of PT Timor's debt. June-July 2001 # The Director-General of Taxation seizes Timor's assets and simultaneously freezes its deposits at Bank Mandiri. # Timor sues nine parties at the South Jakarta District Court, from the Industry Minister through to the head of the Tanjung Priok Customs Office, over the tax decision. April 2002 PT Vista Bella Pratama is established by a businessperson called Taufik Surya Darma. According to IBRA documents obtained by Tempo, the company has its address at Ruko Muara Karang Raya Block Z-3-S No. 47, Pluit, North Jakarta. June 2003 IBRA puts Timor's debt of Rp4 trillion up for auction, which is then won by Vista Bella Pratama at a price of Rp512 billion (11% of the total value of the debt held by IBRA). The transaction agreement contains a clause that there cannot be any direct or indirect connection between the company and the Humpuss Group or its owner. If it turns out that there is such a relationship, they must pay the entire remaining debt to IBRA. July-August 2004 # The Supreme Court grants Timor's review of the tax claim order from the tax and customs offices. # The Supreme Court annuls the seizure of Timor's assets by the Tax Directorate. January 2005 PT Timor requests the release of Rp1.3 trillion deposited at Bank Mandiri, money resulting from Timor car sales. Bank Mandiri refuses the request after Finance Minister Jusuf Anwar asks that the money be withheld because it represents collateral on the Rp4 trillion in unpaid debt. June-November 2006 Timor sues Bank Mandiri and the Finance Department at the South Jakarta District Court for withholding the Rp1.3 trillion. The court finds in favor of Timor. The judges declare that PT Timor is the legitimate owner of the credit transfer and 76 deposits paid into an escrow account of Rp1.027 trillion and US$3,974.94. November 2007 # The Jakarta High Court accepts Bank Mandiri's appeal and annuls the decision by the South Jakarta District Court. # The KPK announces that there are indications that Vista Bella has a relationship with PT Timor Putra Nasional. =======================
