T

he Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has named former Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) head Syafruddin Temenggung a suspect in connection with a graft case pertaining to the suspension of a debt settlement obligation of PT Victoria Securities International Corporation (VSIC).

“He was named a suspect on Sept. 21,” AGO spokesperson Muhammad Rum was quoted as saying by kompas.com on Friday.

Besides Syafruddin, former IBRA credit analyst Harianto Tanudjadja, VSIC director Rita Rosela and VSIC commissioner Suzana Tanojo have also been named suspects. Travel bans have been issued on the two VSIC representatives.

Rum said investigators had secured adequate evidence to name them suspects in the investigation, which began last year.

The case emerged after PT Adistra Utama applied for a Rp 469 billion (US$35.9 million) loan to buy back assets seized after its business floundered during the 1998 monetary crisis. One of the company’s assets, a non-performing loan, was auctioned off for Rp 26 billion.

When PT Adistra Utama attempted to buy back the asset, IBRA set the price at Rp 2.1 trillion, which prompted the former to proceed with a legal case under the suspicion that there had been manipulation.