Concerns of cover-up in bank scandal remain high
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)