Business license of Antaboga revoked

as published in Bisnis Indonesia daily newspaper

Wednesday, 13/01/2010 00:00 WIB

Business license of Antaboga revoked

JAKARTA: The Capital Market and Finance Institutions Supervisory Agency (Bapepam-LK) revoked the license of broker, underwriter, and investment manager of PT Antaboga Delta Sekuritas Indonesia.

"The company should also finalize the settlement of all obligations to the customers as the broker, investment manager, and underwriter," said Secretary of Bapepam-LK Ngalim Sawega in Bapepam-LK press release yesterday.

Antaboga was involved in the misuse of customers fund of PT Bank Mutiara Tbk (the former Bank Century) which was shifted to the fictitious mutual fund as if managed by the securities here.

The graft through the illegal investment product here is estimated worth at IDR1.3 trillion. Bank Century case has so far been probed by the Legislative's Special Committee.

One of Bank Century customers whose funds were misused through such illegal mutual fund, Z. Siput Lokasari, said the closure of securities will not give direct influence to the settlement of the bank graft case.

The revocation of securities license will serve as way for the government to eliminate and blur the graft tracks. With such revocation, Bapepam appears to stay clean against the illegal mutual fund.

"We are not the direct customers of the securities as all the transactions and sales happened at bank. But the current license revocation is questionable when the case is brought at the Legislative."

Siput suspected the closure indicates another vested interest of the government given that the license should have been revoked on the alleged violation in 2005.

The revocation action is almost the same as the change of Bank Century into Bank Mutiara which will only hamper the condition and leave out the graft case. In fact, the securities and the legal case have not even been finalized.

Siput said the bailout of Bank Century was not IDR6.7 trillion as many thought but IDR8.1 trillion as it was excluding the IDR1.3 trillion of the misused customers funds.

He suspected the bailout funds had actually been disbursed but failed to go to the customers up to now.

He will bring the evidences of the allegation to the special committee meeting with the mutual fund customers of Bank Century-Antaboga which will be held January 18. (Bisnis/iaa)