DPR receives PwC's full audit report
DPR receives PwC's full audit report
JAKARTA (JP): The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Indonesian top lawmakers welcomed on Tuesday a decision by the Supreme Court to allow the release of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit report on the multibillion rupiah Bank Bali scandal to the House of Representatives (DPR).
They hoped the resolution of the scandal, which has plagued Indonesian politics for months, would lead to a resumption of several billion dollars in much-needed loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and other major foreign creditors.
Chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency Satrio Billy Joedono handed over a copy of the PwC audit report to House Speaker Akbar Tandjung on Tuesday only a few hours after the Supreme Court handed down its decision.
IMF Asia-Pacific deputy director Anoop Singh said the decision would pave the way for the fund's management to soon consider lifting its suspension of loans to Indonesia.
"This is a crucial turning point, one that we expect will begin the process of restoring confidence in Indonesia's economic program," Singh told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview.
IMF spokesman Vasuki Shastry said in Washington IMF management would soon decide on sending a review mission to Indonesia to look at the economic situation.
The scandal centers around a Rp 546 billion (almost US$80 million at the June rate) fee paid in early June by Bank Bali to a firm to recover loans from banks place under the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA). The firm involved was run by a leading member of President B.J. Habibie's Golkar Party.
The PwC audit report shows that Rp 15 billion of the Rp 546 billion fund involved in the scandal was transferred to the account of Golkar's Election Committee in Jakarta.
The independent audit, commissioned by the Supreme Audit Agency at the request of the IMF, also found numerous irregularities and indications of fraud involving several senior officials and Golkar executives during the processing and payment of the Bank Bali claims.
Paula Donovan, head of the World Bank office in Singapore, said, "That would be step one."
Donovan said the second step would involve implicating those involved in the scandal and subjecting them to the "due force of law".
World Bank director for Indonesia Mark Baird said on Tuesday the move was a vital step for a resolution of the scandal as the disclosure would provide a good basis for due process to go forward.
"We trust that follow-up action -- to hold wrongdoers accountable and to reform the interbank claims settlement process -- will be taken quickly by the government," Baird said.
He said he hoped budget support by the World Bank would be resumed in the near future.
Baird said earlier last week that US$4.7 billion in loans for the Indonesian state budget was being held up by various multilateral lenders and Japan because of the Bank Bali affair.
Indonesian outgoing finance minister Bambang Subianto, who has been implicated in the scandal, also welcomed the Supreme Court's decision, saying "I think for the sake of transparency, the audit must be made public".
The Supreme Audit Agency previously gave the House a summary of the audit, saying parts of the full report were worrisome and disclosing it would breach the banking secrecy code. The full report was given only to the National Police for further investigation.
House Speaker Tandjung, who is also the Golkar chairman, said he would consider publishing the PwC audit report.
The decision to release the full report to the House came on the eve of presidential election in which incumbent Habibie is seeking another term.
But contents of the full report are unlikely to appear in the mass media within the week, given the top lawmakers' preoccupation with the General Session and the time needed to photocopy the 400-page report for distribution to the 500 House members. (03/06/vin)