CEO of Indonesia's textile giant Sritex arrested
JAKARTA: The president director of bankrupt Indonesian textile giant Sritex has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation, local media reported on Wednesday.
The arrest of Iwan Kurniawan Lukminto was due to alleged irregularities related to a loan provided by a state bank to Sritex, or PT Sri Rejeki Isman, the reports said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports and has sought comment from Sritex and the office of the attorney general.
The reports provided no details on the case, the size of the loan or which lender provided it. Sritex was declared bankrupt at the end of last year as it struggled to service its debts, which reached $1.6 billion in June. It stopped operations on March 1 after failing in its appeal against the bankruptcy ruling.
Sritex, which has produced clothes for high street brands like H&M, Rip Curl and Forever 21, as well as military uniforms for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has suffered from weak global demand and cheaper imported fashion. It has been looking for investors to lease its assets to prevent its value from falling. Following the bankruptcy, about 10,000 Sritex workers were facing layoffs, local media reported at that time.
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