Prosecutor says Bank Bali 10 dossiers lacking
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Prosecutor's Office has rejected dossiers of the 10 suspects in the Bank Bali scandal due to a "minor technicality", a senior official at the National Police said on Monday.
Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar Sianipar said the prosecutor's office wanted the suspects to be listed according to a clear definition of the charges they faced.
He said the dossiers should have been put into two categories -- one for those who allegedly breached Banking Law No. 10/1998, and the other for suspects who violated Article 372, concerning embezzlement, of the Criminal Code.
"It's a minor technicality. We'll make the changes as soon as possible and return the dossiers to them. This is normal. It happens all the time," Togar said at National Police Headquarters.
The police sent the dossiers of the 10 suspects on Thursday. The suspects are former Bank Bali president Rudy Ramli and four former directors and senior managers of the bank, two deputy chairmen of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), two businessmen affiliated with President B.J. Habibie's inner circle in the ruling Golkar Party and an official of Bank Indonesia.
Analysts were quick to decry the rejection of the dossiers as a further indication of the government's foot-dragging in the investigation of the scandal, which was first exposed in the media in July.
In a related development, chief of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) Satrio Billy Yudono stressed on Monday that he would not disclose the full PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit report on transactions in the scandal despite pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
"I've said this several times already," he said when asked to comment on the disappointment expressed by the donor institutions in a letter sent to the Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita as reported by Kompas daily on Monday.
The IMF and the World Bank have withheld aid disbursement for Indonesia until the government resolves the Bank Bali scandal satisfactorily.
Yudono said previously that the complete PwC audit report -- which contains information on activity in the bank accounts of people allegedly involved in the scandal -- could not be disclosed on account of the law governing BPK and the banking secrecy law.
BPK only furnished the full PwC report to the police. The police have said they would treat the report as mere input because its methodology was doubtful.
Asked to comment on the letter reportedly sent to Ginandjar, Yudono appeared skeptical. "Where's the letter? Let's read it together," he said.
When asked if he would disclose the PwC audit report if the IMF and World Bank letter did exist, he declined to answer. "You have disturbed my right to go home," he said.
The government's determination not to disclose the full audit report has fanned suspicions of a cover-up orchestrated by Habibie's inner circle.
The scandal revolves around the transfer of Rp 546 billion from the bank to PT Era Giat Prima (EGP) as a commission for helping the bank to recoup some Rp 904 billion in interbank loans to closed banks.
The government said Bank Bali should have not used the services of EGP because the loans were guaranteed by the government under its blanket guarantee program.
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia deputy governor Subarjo Joyosumarto said on Monday the IMF had sent a representative to Jakarta to discuss the bank restructuring program. (rei/ylt)