Citibank soap opera stars vamp, boy toy, debt collectors

Citibank's Indonesian operation is in the throes of a public-relations nightmare with three employees charged over the death of a customer querying a maxed-out credit card bill and a bank "relationship manager" with a taste for the high life in custody over more than $2 million missing from accounts.

Citibank's Indonesian operation is in the throes of a public-relations nightmare with three employees charged over the death of a customer querying a maxed-out credit card bill and a bank "relationship manager" with a taste for the high life in custody over more than $2 million missing from accounts.

And on Friday the story went from nightmare to throbbing business headache as Indonesia's parliament called for the Bank of Indonesia "to investigate and impose stern sanctions on Citibank in accordance with the law."

The parliament's committee overseeing the financial sector also extended a ruling by the country's chief banking regulator that Citibank should stop recruiting new customers for its Citigold premium credit card service until police complete their investigation into the death of a customer on March 29 while in the company of bank debt collectors. The ban on new customers is now extended until there is a final judicial verdict in the case. By some estimates, about 15 per cent of credit cards in Indonesia are issued by Citibank.

The story has become the stuff of tabloid front pages and Indonesia's always highspirited media has been in a feeding frenzy since March 25, when police arrested Malinda Dee, a 47-year-old vamp and former wealth manager whose 22-year-old boyfriend is a soap opera and minor-movie actor.

Andhika Gumilang, best known for his work in cigarette ads, denies any involvement with Dee in the alleged thefts and police say he is only a witness at this point.

Dee, for whom posing provocatively for the camera appears to come naturally, was charged after three of her customers complained about money disappearing from their accounts.

For at least three years she is alleged to have siphoned off at least $2 million with the help of a teller, who has also been arrested.

Police believe Dee either falsified withdrawal slips or failed to deposit money in her clients' accounts.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said last week the teller would deposit the money into an account and then re-transfer it to a company owned by Dee.

It seems likely, though, the final tally of missing money will be much more than the $2 million police have identified so far.

Police have taken possession of two luxury apartments owned by Dee, two Ferraris, a Mercedes E350 and a Hummer.

They are still looking for a Toyota Alphard, a luxury minivan made for the southeast Asian market, that Dee is believed to own.

Citibank has issued a statement assuring customers that their funds are safe.

But at the end of last month the issue became the safety of customers themselves when Irzen Octa, 50, died in a meeting at a Citibank branch office with two bank-contracted debt collectors and a bank employee.

Irzen apparently disputed bank records that showed a debt of the equivalent of $10,000 on his card. He thought the true amount should have been $7,000.

What propelled the story onto the front pages is that Irzen was the secretary-general of the National Unifying Party, a minor political party.

His death in a room where police say they subsequently found the curtains and walls spattered with blood has outraged parliamentarians, some of whom have publicly returned their Citibank credit cards in protest.

On Tuesday the Indonesian House of Representatives commission that oversees financial and budgetary affairs called Citibank's country manager, Syarik Mochtar, before it to explain what happened to Irzen.

Syarik apologized for Irzen's death, but said the bank's internal investigation concluded the politician was not harmed by any of the bank's employees.

"There has been a great deal of speculation in the media about debt-collection practices. Let me assure you that Citibank is committed to operating with the highest standards," Syarik said.

One commission member, Arif Budimanta, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, told Syarik this was not enough.

"Citibank's head office in the United States should apologize to the people of Indonesia because you have hurt us. An apology from a country manager won't do," he said.

An autopsy on Irzen's body, police have said, concluded that he died from a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

But whether he suffered the brain hemorrhage as a result of being beaten by the debt collectors, whom police describe as tough and intimidating, or just from the stress of the situation is unclear.

At the moment the three men are only facing charges of maltreatment.

Citibank's Indonesian problems come after a rough few months in its Asian operation.

In January, Citibank in India said it has nearly resolved questions of compensation for customers who were victims of employee fraud at the Gurgaon branch.

And in December, the Japanese securities watchdog ordered Citibank to pay a $274,000 penalty for failing to properly file statements on stock holdings.

[Source : canada.com]