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)