The Lapindo mudflow fracas takes center stage again with a gas pipeline explosion last night that killed at least seven and injured at least 12 people. Reuters has the report and photos here.
In the meantime there is some suggestion of accountability sleight of hand on the ownership of Lapindo Brantas, the Bakrie company responsible for the mudflow. It has been sold off to, according to Yosef Ardi quoting a Financial Times report, one james Belcher. Belcher is supposed to be an old-time pal of Bakrie.
Anyone can help out just who this James Belcher is? In the meantime, Bapepam is refusing to give permission for Bakrie’s investment. Bakrie is irritated but Bapepam should be congratulated for holding their ground (no pun intended).
technorati tags:Lapindo, mudflow, Sidoarjo
Jim Belcher was a shareholder in the Lewis & Peat group, once majority owned by PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantation. Lewis & Peat’s U.S. operations filed for bankruptcy protection in 1999 or early 2000. Rabobank, a major lender to Lewis & Peat, hired Ernst & Young to audit the company around that time after suspecting that some $60 million of its funds had been misused. The audit found that the group’s Connecticut operations used short term borrowings to finance long term projects, including channeling funds to a company owned by Belcher, according a Dow Jones Newswire report in January 2000. Belcher, according to the report, allegedly used the money to finance his own plantation projects in Liberia and Hainan. This may have gone on for some time before the audit. Lewis & Peat’s Singapore and UK operations went under a month after the audit report, I think.