Palembang, The Indonesia Post – Commission 3 of the South Sumatra (Sumsel) DPRD summoned the management of Bank Sumsel Babel (BSB) regarding the Rp50 billion bad debt given to PT Coffindo. A hearing was held in the meeting room of Commission 3 of the South Sumatra DPRD, Monday (13/01/2025). The meeting, led by the Chairman of Commission 3, Tamtama Tanjung, was attended by the President Director of BSB, Syamsuddin, and his staff.
Unfortunately, the meeting was closed to the media. After the meeting, Abdullah Taufik, a member of Commission 3 of the South Sumatra DPRD, explained that BSB had provided information regarding the bad debt. “BSB stated that the provision of credit to PT Coffindo was in accordance with procedures. However, the company was declared bankrupt in 2019, so the credit was bad,” said Taufik.
Taufik added that BSB claimed to have fulfilled the committee’s rules and agreements in disbursing the Rp50 billion credit. “The question is, one of the leaders involved in the decision-making process for granting the credit has now been re-elected as an official at BSB based on the results of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGMS),” said Taufik.
Commission 3 of the South Sumatra DPRD urged BSB to immediately coordinate with the curator in the seizure of PT Coffindo’s assets. “We also question the results of the BSB EGMS which re-elected an official related to this bad credit,” said Taufik. BSB argued that the official was chosen because of his competence. Commission 3 will continue to monitor the development of this case and coordinate with the leadership elements of the South Sumatra DPRD.
“We hope that BSB can work better in the future,” said Taufik. Another member of Commission 3, M. Hasan Haikal, added, “Rp50 billion is a large figure for a regional bank. BSB must seriously handle this problem.”
Two weeks ago, this case also drew attention from the Coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Community (K-MAKI), Bony Balitong, who suspected that there was a credit mafia practice at BSB. According to him, the guarantee given by PT Coffindo, in the form of one hectare of land in Medan and a house in Jakarta, was not comparable to the credit value. “PT Coffindo is a new customer with high risk and has debts at four other banks. This is a violation of the principle of prudence,” said Bony. Deputy K-MAKI, Feri Kurniawan, urged the South Sumatra Police and the South Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office to thoroughly investigate this case.
“The individuals involved must be held responsible,” he said. Meanwhile, Acting Corporate Secretary of BSB, Ahmad Azhari, admitted that he was studying this case. He said that bad debts are common in banking, but his party will investigate this case and increase supervision in the future.
“The credit disbursement procedure at the bank involves many departments, so the possibility of fictitious credit is small. However, we will investigate this issue to ensure that there are no violations of procedure,” explained Azhari. (ojn/bbs)
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