The Land of The Thieves - Chapter 11
Episode 4: The Call at Dawn (2)
The car sped onward. At two in the morning, the streets of Jakarta were deserted. If you were desperate, you could go up to 120 km/h on the main road.
“Are you following the news?”
I nodded. I sat in the backseat, listening to the explanation.
“That’s great. It would be easier to explain. Like a chess king surrounded by many enemies, Uncle Liem was besieged. A week ago the Central Bank authorities had already given a third warning to his bank, and this afternoon, unfortunately, they announced that Uncle Liem’s bank could not close the interbank clearing. Everyone panicked, and you know, it’s only five billion short. They announced it in the name of transparency. The end result, Semesta Bank’s shares are suspended from trading on the stock exchange. Panicked customers formed serpentine queues at each branch this afternoon. And add to that a snippet of negative info… Voila! Everyone is on the edge.” Ram, who was sitting next to me, sighed.
“I don’t know about the clearing loss1,” I mumbled.
The driver didn’t seem to slow down, the car swerved into the overpass.
“Of course not. You just got back from London this afternoon, right? Luckily, today is Friday, so we have two days to deal with panicked customers on Monday. Things are messed up, Tom. If the rush occurs2, all customers will flock to withdraw their savings. The Semesta Bank is definitely going to collapse. Even if all of the assets were sold and all of Uncle Liem’s assets were pawned, it would still not be enough. Come on, all money has been loaned to third parties, how can we withdraw money from them quickly to return customers’ savings? The situation is getting more complicated… You must have known from the news that the police investigators assisted by the Central Bank authority have been investigating Semesta Bank for several months. This business is pointless, like your hate for your uncle. I also knew that there were too many inexplicable transactions at the bank. Six years in control of the bank, Uncle Liem was too ambitious, careless, underestimated many things, and violated so many regulations for the sake of growing his business.” Ram sighed again.
“We really don’t have time until Monday seeing that the police are surrounding the house, Tom. It’s only because your aunt is still unconscious that they held back from handcuffing Uncle Liem. Sooner or later, tomorrow or the day after, Uncle Liem’s face will be plastered in the newspapers, making headlines. The owners of big banks and giant business empires have all collapsed.”
I swallowed hard. Staring at the rows of tall buildings from the overpass.
“Isn’t he acquainted with a lot of important and powerful people to save the bank?” Finally, I commented.
Ram laughed wryly. “He has more enemies and people who want to take advantage of the collapse of the Semesta Bank, Tom. They are scrambling to get valuable assets that are sold cheaply. He is repressed. The last news I received, but this is off the record, a three-star police officer, a senior prosecutor, and one of the Central Bank deputies are directly involved in the investigation of Semesta Bank. They are very enthusiastic to work as if there are no corrupt cases of their cronies to take care of. Too many mysteries in this case since the first warning from the authority. Gosh, Tom, only five billion lost in clearing, the riot was like a five trillion clearing loss. For what though?”
“It’s their job. Supervision,” I answered softly.
“Bullshit, Tom! For decades I have been Om Liem’s confidant, and have spent decades helping him control his business. I also agree with you in some ways. I hate the way he does business, but this Semesta Bank case has too many conflicts of interests, too many mysteries. It is as if a ghost from the past has deliberately taken over all of Uncle Liem’s luck, creating scenarios, preparing to stab him in the back. And that’s right, once the Semesta Bank is beyond rescue,the wealth of Uncle Liem’s family, in its entirety, will deplete. Aren’t you one of the heirs, Tom? “
“I don’t care about that.”
“Of course you have to care! You don’t just inherit property, Tom. You also automatically inherit the debts.” Ram laughed with concern, joking.
I didn’t answer. The car we were in had made a sharp turn, heading for one of the most elite areas in Jakarta.
1. Finance term. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/clearing.asp || https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/abn-amro-takes-200m-loss-on-us-clearing-client-20200327
2. Rush / Rush Money (finance term): “dozen of people taking money store in bank simultaneously, as a form of distrust of the community with the health condition of the bank or unstable economy. this condition causes the public to worry about saving their money in the bank so they decided to withdraw their saving from the bank.”