JAKARTA (Reuters) -The president director of bankrupt Indonesian textile giant Sritex has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation, Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office said on Wednesday.
The AGO confirmed to Reuters that the arrest of Iwan Kurniawan Lukminto was due to alleged irregularities related to a bank loan provided to Sritex. Local media earlier reported the loan was provided by a state bank.
Reuters sought comment from Sritex, but they did not immediately respond.
The AGO did not provide 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.
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by Martin Petty and John Mair)
