Maggie, thanks for posting the link (it is on my to-post list :) )
From the article
“.... About US$1.5 million was collected ...”
Large sum, even more so in early ‘70’s..... and the projects were worldwide.
One has to ask the question:
given the small size of the group, how did they get so far so fast....
“doing it as part of worship/being a group member can’t be all of it.
To answer one of hoosiermama questions up thread as to what religious organizations engage in banking, etc., what comes to mind are the Islamic banks...
Forgot to include you on the ping to post #755. It Answers question posed
in post #724 “do religious organizations usually engage in banking “
Precisely. How is this money used in the world. Money laudering ? Drugs? Trrrorism? All out of sight of controlling world governments
How did it grow so fast? One can bet it wasn’t legally!
OTOH worked in a bank in CA in 1969. First week of operation we had one deposit over a million it was a payroll account transferred from a sister bank after our bank was formed in a consolidation
Who bought them out? Or who did they merge with. IMO besides them needing to be offshore to circumvent Indonesian law, the promise of large deposits often determines their partner or who they merge or allow to buy out
Bingo
Look under former names here:
http://www.securities.com/Public/company-profile/ID/Bank_Syariah_Mandiri_en_2405670.html
From page
BSM is a merge of Bank Dagang Negara, Bank Bumi Daya, Bank Exim, and Bapindo on July 31, 1999.
Further to the merger, the Sharia Banking Development Team prepared the system and infrastructure to change conventional banking activities to a bank running on the basis of sharia principles
under the name PT Bank Syariah Mandiri just as legalized with the Notarial Act of Sutjipto, SH, No. 23 dated September 8, 1999.
“Banking Efficiency Award 2010”, “Annual Report Award 2009”, “Investor Award”