Consumer finance company PT Sunprima Nusantara Pembiayaan (SNP Finance) is suspected to have committed credit fraud to 14 banks. The credit fraud raised doubts for the security of bank credit system. The case came up after Badan Reserse Kriminal Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia (Bareskrim Polri) followed up the crime report from PT Bank Pan Indonesia Tbk or Panin Bank that SNP Finance didn’t fulfill their obligation as a debitor. The investigation then found that the credit fraud has been done from 2003 until 2016 with the modus operandi of fake credit to PT Columbindo Perdana (Columbia).
SNP Finance is a funding company owned by Leo Chandra, one of the most famous entrepreneurs in Indonesia and also the founder of Columbia Group. Other than SNP Finance, Columbia Group consists of three other companies that runs in retail and funding. Leo started his career as an entrepreneur that focuses in retail under the name of Columbia. The business was established since 1982 and has been operating for 35 years. Leo’s experience in selling electronics encouraged him to use the credit system while peddling the products in transactions with customers.
Leo’s credit system provides easy terms for customers who buys the product without any guarantees. Many people labeled him as “insane” and nobody expected his retail businesses to grow rapidly. With his growing retail businesses, Leo acquired SNP Finance in 2004. According to Columbia Group’s web, Columbia and SNP Finance work differently. Columbia Finance does the financing for Columbia showroom while SNP Finance does the services in various fields, such as electronics until agriculture sector.
From the data of Bareskrim Polri that was obtained from the credit disbursement documents that SNP finance has received, the total amount of the fraud is up to 14 trillion rupiah; however, OJK stated that the amount is only about 2.2 trillion rupiah. Some people point that there are bank's weakness in implementing the principle of prudence.
Sigit Pramono, a senior banker, said that the burglary of bank fund through credit fraud is usually detected after there is a case of default. Bank usually rely on trust and corporate ratings for old time debtor, which has become a weakness when a credit is given, but banks do not recheck to the customer. This risk can be minimized if an integrated supervision by OJK is done well. So far, there are three banks, Panin, Mandiri, and BCA, that have been fooled. Mandiri is the one that has given the biggest lend, amounting to 1.4 trillion rupiah. Panin Bank lent 140 billion rupiah, while BCA refused to give the amount of money lent.
Sources:
Bisnis Indonesia
The Jakarta Post