TEMPO.CO, Jakarta- The access to Panama Papers has been opened for public today. In the past year, 370 journalists from 76 countries - organized by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) - have been investigating 11.5 million data in the document.
A number of Indonesian tycoons have been hiring a Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca to set up shell companies. The documents of Mossack Fonseca’s clients, known as the Panama Papers, list a number of Indonesian families, among others, Mochtar Riady family (ranked sixth in Forbes’ Indonesia’s richest list), Martua Sitorus-owner of Wilmar International Ltd, and Ciputra family.
The Panama Papers list Lippo Group owner, James Tjahaja Riadi, as a shareholder of a company called Golden Walk Enterprise Ltd. The company was set up by Mossack in the British Virgin Islands in 2011. Her son, John Riady, is also listed as the owner of Phoenix Pacific Enterprise Ltd in the BVI. The Riady family’s net worth is US$2.1 billion or roughly Rp27.9 trillion, according to Forbes.
Whereas Wilmar International Limited is listed for having two shell companies: Klientwort Benson Trustees Ltd and Gold Branch Enterprises Limited. The latter was set up in the British Virgin Islands in April 2010.
Wilmar International is a company established by Martua in 1991. Wilmar has 450 manufacturing companies in 15 countries and 90 thousand employees across the globe. Martua’s net worth is US$1.38 billion or roughly Rp18.3 trillion.
Ciputra is listed as a shareholder of Grace Global Inc. in the British Virgin Islands. The company was established in April 2003. Ciputra’s daughter, Junita Ciputra, also owns a company called Grace 28 Inc. listed in the British Virgin Islands. Ciputra family’s net worth is US$1.48 billion or roughly Rp19.7 trillion.
A member of Riady family gave an off-the-record comments in April when asked about the issue. An official of Wilmar has no idea about the shell companies revealed in Panama Papers. “I don’t know. I have no capacity to answer the question. Ask Pak Tumanggor,” Director Executive of PT Wilmar Nabati Indonesia Taufik Tamin told Tempo yesterday. A commissioner of Wilmar Group, Master Parulian Tumanggor, gave the same answer: “I don’t know.”
Corporate Secretary and Finance Director of PT Ciputra Development Tbk, Tulus Santoso Brotosiswojo, said he did not know if Ciputra family have any shell company set up by Mossack Foseca. “I don’t know. I don’t think so,” he noted.
F. ROSARIANS | FAIZ NASHRILLAH | DEWI SUCI R | KODRAT
