According to Finance Minister Elbuchel Sadang, the government’s accounts in the bank are still “intact.”
He said the amounts indicated in a document handed to presidential candidate and administration critic Joshua Koshiba represented renewals not withdrawals.The government, Sadang added, still has a balance of $1,536,290.35 with the insolvent bank, which closed down in Nov. 2006 and placed under receivership.He said under the bank process, the accounts will be closed and then renewed.The money never left the bank, Sadang said.Neither President Tommy Remengesau nor the Ministry of Finance have any authority to make withdrawals from the bank, he added.He reiterated that his ministry did not take money out of the bank because it had prior knowledge of its collapse.The $156,927.74 supposedly withdrawn before the bank shut down was re-deposited into a new account that same day, Sadang said.
