Mon, 27 Sep 1999

Concerns of cover-up in bank scandal remain high

JAKARTA (JP): There remains growing concern of a cover-up in the Bank Bali scandal even though the House of Representatives has completed its probe and publicly issued its findings, including a list of high-level people allegedly involved.

"There's been growing concern that the government will prioritize its political interests rather than national interests in resolving the scandal," Sri Adiningsih, an economist at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

She feared the House findings would be ignored by the police and the attorney general, just as what happened with the results of an audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Sri explained that if the government failed to resolve the Bank Bali scandal satisfactorily, confidence would further dwindle and the economy would continue its downward spiral.

The House's special investigative team on Friday urged President B.J. Habibie to immediately suspend senior government officials allegedly involved in the scandal.

The investigative team concluded that seven senior government officials were either directly or indirectly involved. They are Supreme Advisory Agency (DPA) chief Arnold A. Baramuli, State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng, Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto, Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin, Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chairman Glenn S. Yusuf and two of his deputies Pande Lubis and Farid Harianto.

Habibie stressed on Friday that he would not suspend any of his aides until a court ruling had pronounced them guilty.

The Bank Bali scandal revolves around the transfer of Rp 546 billion (almost US$80 million at the June rate) from the bank to PT Era Giat Prima (EGP) as a commission to help the bank recoup some Rp 904 billion in interbank loans on a closed down bank.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have withheld aid disbursement for Indonesia until the government resolves the Bank Bali scandal satisfactorily and transparently.

But the Supreme Audit Agency insists that under prevailing laws, including the banking secrecy provisions, the complete PwC audit report can not be fully disclosed and can be handed over only to the police and the attorney general.

The complete audit report details the flow of funds in the Bank Bali scandal and could reveal the names of influential people.

Pande Raja Silalahi, an economist at private think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), conceded.

"Without concrete action, the economy won't recover," he said.

"How the government could still be respected by the IMF and the World Bank, because it is no longer credible in the eyes of the people," Pande said.

Meanwhile, acting Attorney General Ismudjoko said on Saturday his office had formed an investigative team, which would start summoning suspects on Monday. (rei/har)