Legislators give input to Central Bank following high-profile cases

The House of Representatives’ Commission XI overseeing financial matters has given a number of inputs  to the central bank following two high-profile cases involving Citibank customers and employees.

One case involved the death of Citibank customer Irzen Octa, who was found dead in one of the bank’s branch offices in Jakarta after he complained to the bank’s staff about what he thought was an inflated credit card bill. His death was thought to have been caused by aggressive debt collectors.
 
Another case involved the alleged embezzlement of billions of rupiah by former Citibank manager Inong Malinda. Malinda. Melinda is suspected of stealing at least Rp 20 billion (US$2.85 million) from some of Citibank’s wealthiest clients.

One suggestion is that Bank Indonesia freeze the issuance of Citibank credit cards until the court issues a legal decision on the case of Irzen Octa.
“House of Representatives Commission XI considers the duty of Bank Indonesia in conducting monitoring and regulation enforcement towards banks as still very weak,” a statement from legislators said Friday.  

The Commission gave its suggestions after several hearings on both cases. Other points in the suggestion include banks revoke and revise regulations on debt collecting, while in the meantime banks should collect from customers directly.

The commission said that it would conduct a revision on the Law on banking and Bank Indonesia in the fourth seating session of 2010 and 2011.