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Office equipment from the failed Bank of Honolulu is scheduled to be auctioned tomorrow at the site of the bank's former main branch in the Davies Pacific Center on Bishop Street. Bank of Honolulu items
on auction blockStar-Bulletin staff
The bank, seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., was sold in October 2000 to San Francisco's Bank of the Orient, which will be the beneficiary of the auction proceeds. Bank of the Orient moved the branch in August to the ground floor of the Dillingham Transportation Building.
The auction begins at 10 a.m., with a preview starting at 8 a.m. More information about the auction is available at www.HawaiianAuctions.com.
Bank of Honolulu's former owner, Indonesian developer Sukamto Sia, is scheduled to be sentenced to up to 40 months in federal prison on March 11. Sia, facing multiple federal charges, cut a deal with prosecutors last year and pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud and wire fraud.
Sia's Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is still pending, and Guido Giacometti, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, wants to question Sia under oath after the former banker is sentenced. Giacometti has not had a chance to quiz Sia directly since the FBI arrested Sia during a bankruptcy meeting in August 2000.
"After he was arrested his position was that he would not speak to us," Giacometti said. "He basically took the Fifth Amendment."
In his November 1998 bankruptcy petition, Sia claimed $9.3 million in assets and $296.5 million in debts. Giacometti accused Sia of hiding his wealth and subsequently so did the federal government. Sia has since admitted to hiding state tax refunds totaling $757,249.
Giacometti has asked the U.S Bankruptcy Court to order Sia to appear for questioning, following the refusal of Sia's attorney Renton Nip to accept a subpoena on behalf of Sia. Nip said he wasn't authorized to accept the subpoena, according to court documents.