Political rumblings grow over Bank Bali scandal

JAKARTA (JP): Political squabbling over laying the blame for the high-profile Bank Bali scandal intensified on Thursday, with the ruling Golkar Party declaring its innocence and a senior economic minister denying any involvement.

Golkar deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman stressed the party was not involved in the alleged multimillion dollar scandal.

"It was clearly established in our meeting that there has not been any transfer of funds (from Bank Bali) to Golkar accounts," he said after a closed-door meeting with chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Glenn S. Yusuf.

He said Golkar would be "proactive" in assisting in the investigation of the scandal and determining who was responsible.

Marzuki, who was accompanied by other Golkar officials including treasurer Fadel Muhammad, has been at the vanguard in efforts to improve Golkar's tattered image ahead of the presidential election in November.

Two businessmen affiliated with the party, Joko Chandra and Golkar deputy treasurer Setya Novanto, allegedly colluded with an IBRA deputy chairman to pressure Bank Bali to provide about Rp 546 billion (US$70 million) in commissions to help the bank recoup Rp 904 billion in interbank claims on closed banks.

Interbank claims on closed banks are supposed to be automatically covered by IBRA through the government blanket guarantee for bank deposits and claims. Bank Indonesia has emphasized that an intermediary is not needed to recover the claims.

Speculation has narrowed to the possibility that a sizable chunk of the commission was funneled to the special team in charge of securing the election of President B.J. Habibie in November.

Banking law expert Pradjoto, who first revealed the scandal early this month, alluded to the possible involvement of other senior government officials.

IBRA confirmed the Rp 546 billion transfer of funds from Bank Bali to PT Era Giat Prima (EGP), an investment firm controlled by Joko and Setya, in early June.

"The transaction by Chandra and Novanto with Rudy Ramli (the then president of Bank Bali) was not a normal business deal," Fadel said.

The three executives seem destined to be held responsible for the scandal, with the National Police requesting the immigration authorities impose a travel ban on them.

Minister of Justice/ State Secretary Muladi has previously dismissed allegations of the involvement of State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng, head of the Supreme Advisory Council A.A. Baramuli and Habibie.

Separately, Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita denied allegations leveled against him on Wednesday by chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais.

The coordinating minister was attending the Consultative Group on Indonesia meeting in Paris when the first media reports of the scandal surfaced, a statement issued by Ginandjar's office said.

The statement was read by Parulian Sidabutar, Ginandjar's secretary, at a news conference which was originally scheduled to be led by the coordinating minister himself. He did not attend.

"We have to explain that the duty of a coordinating minister is coordinating economic and finance ministers without lessening the authority and the responsibility of the individual ministers in their respective field," the statement added.

Ginandjar denied Amien's charges that he ordered Bank Indonesia to settle the repayment of $900 million in trade financing debt arrears owed by local private banks to foreign banks.

"This can easily be cross-checked with the central bank."

Amien, who also chairs the advisory board of the Center for Banking Crisis, urged Habibie on Wednesday to suspend Ginandjar, finance minister Bambang Subianto and Glenn Yusuf because they should be held responsible for the Bank Bali scandal and other incidents of fraud in the banking sector.

Amien also demanded that the government guarantee on bank deposits and the system of claims be abolished because it was widely susceptible to abuse.

Marzuki warned that the real culprits in the scandal could elude punishment if the focus shifted to demanding the resignation of senior government officials.

"Attention must not be diverted from the nitty-gritty of the Bank Bali case," Marzuki said. (rei)