Deutsche Bank AG won a court order that a company controlled by two of Indonesia’s richest men must end legal attempts outside Singapore to regain pledged shares that Germany’s biggest bank sold.

Beckkett, controlled by Sukanto Tanoto and Hashim Djojohadikusumo, can’t pursue duplicate proceedings after six years in the Singapore courts, Singapore High Court Judge Judith Prakash said in a ruling made public today.

 

The ruling was made on an appeal by Deutsche Bank, which had asked Beckkett to withdraw a separate Indonesian lawsuit from 2008, and challenged a February decision by Singapore’s assistant registrar not to order the Indonesian proceedings to be halted. Singapore’s Court of Appeal last year ruled that the bank didn’t take proper steps to sell the shares in companies including coal miner PT Adaro Indonesia at the best price.

 

Beckkett, which had pledged the shares as collateral for a 1997 loan to its unit PT Asminco Baru Utama, was entitled to have any losses determined. The Court of Appeal also allowed Deutsche Bank to make a counterclaim for an outstanding loan.

 

“Beckkett had no business starting the Indonesian action in the first place,” Judge Prakash wrote. “There was no excuse for it to attempt to bypass a possibly unfavorable decision of the Singapore courts by taking action in Indonesia.”

 

Laurel Teo, a Singapore-based spokeswoman for Beckkett, declined to comment, as did Michael West, a Hong Kong-based spokesman at Deutsche Bank.

 

Tanoto, with a fortune of $1.9 billion is Indonesia’s eighth richest person while Djojohadikusumo is ranked 21 with a wealth of US$500 million ($657.1 million), according to Forbes Asia’s December 2009 rankings.

 

Deutsche Bank sold the shares to PT Dianlia Setyamukti after PT Asminco Bara Utama defaulted on a US$100 million loan in November 2001. Dianlia is controlled by Edwin Soeryadjaya, Indonesia’s 16th richest person according to Forbes Asia.

 

The case is Beckkett Pte Ltd. v Deutsche Bank AG and Anor. S326/2004 in the Singapore High Court.