No simple crime

No simple crime

Although it is quite possible that a violation of technical
banking procedures was involved in the Bank Bali scandal, the
authorities should not limit their investigation merely to the
criminal aspects of the case, thereby creating the impression
that the fault lies with the bank's previous management under
Rudy Ramli only. If the main focus of the investigation is
restricted to such criminal technical violations only, the
public's trust in our banking system will always be absent.

Banks are institutions which must rely on trust. They must be
able to maintain public credibility and assure clients that their
money will always be safely kept. But if they are taken advantage
of by people with political motives, the public's trust in our
national banking system will increasingly erode.

Banks are also engines of development so that their existence
must be protected. The Bank Bali scandal must be satisfactorily
resolved, the main masterminds behind it must be found and an
open trial must be held. If this can be done, the prestige of
President B.J. Habibie's administration will be restored in the
eyes of our own people and financial institutions around the
world.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta