Coal contractor's account blocked for not paying debt

Bank Universal has blocked the account of PT Adiputra Dewasajaya (AD), a contractor of the state-owned coal-mining operator PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam for not paying the company's debt to the bank.

As the consequence, about 1,000 people working for the company, which operated as Bukit Asam's main contractor in coal exploration activities, have not received their salaries for at least five months, Kompas daily reported on Friday.

In a hearing with the Commission IX of the House of Representatives on Thursday, the president of PT Adiputra, Eddy Hartono said that business activities had been totally halted since the bank froze the company's account worth about Rp 15 billion in the bank.

"The money is the only our lifeline. Without the money, we could not do any thing, including paying the workers' salaries," he said in the hearing which was also attended by the bank's president Stephen Satyahadi.

Stephen told the House members that the bank was forced to block PT Adiputra's account because the company breached the agreement to pay its debts. "The company's funds were frozen because the company did not show any good intention to pay its debt," he said.

Speaking at the same event, Eddy acknowledged that his company had total debts of Rp 40 billion to the bank that should be paid with a monthly installment of Rp 800 million. "Because of the crisis, we could no longer pay the debts," he said. (*)