By Matt Scott
April 1 – Internazionale risks becoming embroiled in a share wrangle over disputed allegations one of the club’s new owners misappropriated $170 million from a listed company.
Rosan Roeslani was named as a key member of the Indonesian consortium that took a controlling interest in the three-times European Cup winners last October.
In a statement on Inter’s website announcing the new owners, Roeslani was described as “a prominent Indonesian businessman and investor focusing in strategic sectors including banking and finance, infrastructure, real estate and tourism.”
It added: “He serves as vice chairman, banking and finance, of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce.”
But Roeslani is best known in the City of London as a director of the controversial $3 billion Indonesian coalminer Bumi, where $200 million was spent “with no clear business purpose”. Last June Roeslani reached an agreement with the London Stock Exchange-listed firm to begin repaying $173 million, without admitting any fault in the matter.
But the deadline for the first scheduled payment of $30 million was missed in September, with Roeslani informing the firm of his position that “any outstanding liability to transfer any cash or assets had been extinguished”.
Bumi, now trading as Asia Resource Minerals, is pursuing the matter through its law firm, Macfarlanes. According to the UK’s Daily Telegraph it has applied for a court order in France to seize Roeslani-held assets there.
Another of the non-Indonesian assets Macfarlanes has targeted for recovery is the Inter stake Roeslani holds through International Sports Capital. He is one of three Indonesian investors including Erick Thohir and Handy Soetedjo and all three sit on Inter’s board.
Thohir and Roeslani are also co-investors in the Major League Soccer side DC United. There is no suggestion Thohir was in any way involved in the missing funds at Bumi and Roeslani denies wrongdoing.
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