North Sumatra: thanks to Sister Natalia, bank returns savings to defrauded Catholics

Almost €1.4 million was stolen from the accounts of the faithful of the parish of St Francis of Assisi in Aek Nabara. For weeks, the nun fought for the return of the money stolen by a former bank employee, who subsequently fled to Australia and was arrested. The bank’s senior management offered “sincere apologies” to the country’s Catholics.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - After an exhausting battle, Catholics in North Sumatra, led by Sister Natalia Situmorang KYC who personally championed their cause, will be fully compensated for the million-euro theft from private current accounts at a local branch of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).

Yesterday afternoon, in fact, BNI 46 officially announced that the process of returning the remaining funds to customers of the Aek Nabara financial cooperative had been completed via bank transfers directly into the account holders’ accounts.

At the same time, during the press conference, the bank’s senior management officially apologised to the country’s Catholics, in particular the members of the parish of St Francis of Assisi in Aek Nabara, for the embezzlement committed by a former employee, who subsequently fled abroad and was captured.

Over the past week, the nun has repeatedly lobbied in Jakarta on behalf of the robbed account holders, meeting with senior bank officials and government representatives in the hope that BNI 46 would return the final portion of the stolen funds. “We are calling for the support of the media and the press,” she emphasised to AsiaNews in recent days, “so that our struggle to recover the remaining funds can be resolved.”

A breakthrough came at the start of the week when Sister Natalia met with BNI’s chairman, Putrama Wahju Setyawan, thanks in part to the mediation of representatives from the Gerindra Party, a movement allied with President Prabowo Subianto, which ultimately yielded a positive outcome.

Over the past month, the Catholic Church in Indonesia has been shaken by the disappearance of approximately 28,257,360,600 Indonesian rupiah (just under 1.4 million euros) belonging to members of the parish of St Francis of Assisi in Aek Nabara, in the Archdiocese of Medan, about a seven-hour journey from the provincial capital.

A substantial sum, the result of money deposited by thousands of account holders over the last 45 years at the Aek Nabara Credit Union: most of them are farmers or humble workers from remote areas of northern Sumatra.

The money was stolen over time and in the utmost secrecy by Andi Hakim Febriansyah, who at the time was head of the BNI branch in Aek Nabara, where he had worked before resigning and fleeing with the ‘treasure’ belonging to the parish’s Catholic community.

It later emerged that Andi, together with his wife, had used the funds to finance a lavish lifestyle and other personal interests. Meanwhile, the police have tracked him down and arrested him in his gilded exile in Australia, where he had taken refuge after leaving his home country with the misappropriated money, and the judiciary has opened an investigation into the couple.

Since the case came to public attention, with peaceful demonstrations by tearful customers, it has sparked controversy and outrage, particularly on social media, which has been inundated with calls for mass forced withdrawals should the bank fail to return the remaining 21 billion rupiah. Previously, the bank had paid out around seven billion in refunds, deemed insufficient by the defrauded citizens and public opinion itself.

“BNI extends its sincere apologies to Catholics throughout Indonesia, particularly the parishioners of Aek Nabara, as well as to the wider public for the inconvenience caused. We understand the concerns and the impact experienced by those affected,” stated Munadi Herlambang, the bank’s Human Resources Director.

“Today we bring good news to the public. The process of returning funds to customers of the Aek Nabara parish has been completed,” concluded the senior official of one of the archipelago’s largest banks.

The number “46” usually appears in the bank’s name, referring to the year of its foundation as the first bank since independence. In her role as treasurer and spokesperson for the parish, Sister Natalia fought with remarkable determination, garnering widespread sympathy.

During yesterday’s meeting with BNI executives, the nun was accompanied by the credit institution’s legal adviser, Bryan Roberto Mahulae. In this final phase, the bank has returned 21,257,360,600 rupees, following the previous repayment of approximately seven billion. Munadi expressed the hope that this response would help maintain public confidence in the bank.