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Efforts on to secure release of Polaris officials

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI DEC. 17. Despite all out efforts, Polaris Software has not been able to secure the release of its Chairman and Managing Director and CEO, Arun Jain, and head of bankware division, Rajiv Malhotra, who have been detained by the Indonesian Police since Friday last. From the information available here, Mr. Jain and Mr. Malhotra are being kept in confinement and the Indian Embassy in Jakarta has only been able to intermittently establish contact with them.

In a hurriedly held press conference here, Govind Singhal, Executive Director of Polaris, said it was not "a fraud or a criminal case, but just a commercial case". The agreement between Polaris and Bank Artha Graha is governed by a contract signed under Singapore laws with an option for arbitration only under Singapore laws. In this context, the detention in Indonesia (under Indonesian laws) clearly violates the terms of the contract.

It is understood that Bank Artha Graha had demanded Polaris repay $662,000 consisting of $312,000 as service charges and $350,000 for product licence.

Mr. Singhal said "We are overwhelmed by the support we have received from our well-wishers." The company had got assurance from the Union Government that if the situation warranted the Prime Minister would intervene to resolve the problem. The company officials said the matter had already been brought to the attention of the Union IT Minister, Pramod Mahajan. The National Association for Software and Service Companies and the Confederation of Indian Industry are also assisting to secure the release of the detained officials.

The company has also appointed Lucus Partners, an international law firm, to deal with the situation. The legal counsel for Polaris and the Indian Embassy in Jakarta were working closely with the senior management team of Polaris to resolve the issue, the ED said.

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