KPK TO QUESTION ROBERT TANTULAR ON TUESDAY

Jakarta, Feb 2 (ANTARA) - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was scheduled on Tuesday to summon Robert Tantular, former owner of troubled Bank Century.

KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said the KPK would question Tantular over the bailout funds his bank had received from the Deposit Insurance Institute (LPS).

Tantular was scheduled to arrive at the KPK building at 10.00 am west Indonesian standard time (WIB). However, up till 12.00 Tantular had yet to show up.

The Bank Century case emerged after BI extended Short-Term Financing Facility (FPJP) funds worth Rp1 trillion, to meet a request from Bank Century for asset reposition assistance in October 2008 due to a liquidity problem.

But according to the results of an investigative audit by the Supreme Audit Board (BPK), BI processed the Bank Century request for repositioning assistance under its FPJP scheme.

The Bank`Century's capital adequacy ratio at the time was 2.35 percent while according to the BI Regulation Number 10/26/PBI/2008 all banks had to have a minimum CAR of 8.0 percent to be eligible for FPJP funding.

On November 14, 2008, BI changed the regulation allowing a bank with a positive CAR to apply for FPJP funding. According to BPK although Bank Century`s CAR at the time was below eight percent, BI decided to extend FPJP funds in installments from November 14 to 18, 2008 reaching Rp689 billion to the troubled bank.

In the same month Bank Century also received bailout funds totaling Rp6.7 trillion from the LPS.

The extension of the Rp6.7 trillion followed a meeting of BI`s board of governors that declared the Bank Century a failed bank with the potential of causing a systemic breakdown.

The decision was then reported to the finance minister as the chair of the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) through a letter Number 10/232/GBI dated November 20, 2008.

The KSSK then held a meeting on November 21 starting from 00.11 and which was then followed by a closed-door meeting fro 04.00 am to 06.00 am.

According to BPK, the closed-door meeting was attended by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani as the KSSK chief, Boediono as BI governor and Raden Pardede as KSSK secretary.

The meeting was later followed by a meeting of the Coordination Committee (KK) attended by KSSK chief, BI governor and the LPS board commissioner.

The participants agreed to declare Bank Century a failed bank with the potential of causing systemic breakdown and to bail it out with funds from the LPS.

BPK concluded that BI had not given the latest data on the condition of Bank Century at the time causing the bailout funds to swell from initially Rp632 billion to Rp6.7 trillion.