Seven senior government officials involved in bank scandal: House
Seven senior government officials involved in bank scandal: House
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives concluded on
Thursday that seven senior government officials were directly or
indirectly involved in the Bank Bali scandal.
Head of the House special investigation team Lili Asdjudiredja
said the team recommended that President B.J. Habibie take
administrative sanction, including the dismissal of any officials
involved.
"We recommend Habibie take administrative sanctions against
the officials," he told reporters outside a closed-door meeting.
"We also recommend the police and the attorney general follow
up on our findings," he added.
Lili declined to name the officials, pointing out that the
findings would be disclosed on Friday at a House plenary session.
"This is our political decision," Paskah Suzetta, a member of
the team, said.
The police have named Pande Lubis and Farid Harianto,
deputy chairmen of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA), and Desmi Demas, the head of Bank Indonesia accounting
and payment department, among 10 suspects in the Bank Bali
scandal. The seven other suspects are former senior management
staffers of Bank Bali and two prominent businessmen.
The police handed over the dossiers of the 10 suspects to the
Jakarta Prosecutor's Office on Thursday.
The special investigation team has also summoned for
questioning Supreme Advisory Council (DPA) chief Arnold A.
Baramuli, State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises
Tanri Abeng, Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto, IBRA chairman
Glenn S. Yusuf and Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin.
Meanwhile, legislator Herman Widiananda, also a member of the
investigation team, warned of efforts by House leaders to cover
up for those involved.
He said the investigation team would issue a 57-page document.
"The full document must be disclosed tomorrow (Friday) because
we're ending our term," he said, fearing that the House would
only disclose the summary of the report.
The current House members end their term on Friday. New
members will take up their posts on Oct. 1.
Concerns of efforts to cover up the scandal has been high in
the minds of the public and international donor institutions.
There has been allegations that the bank scandal involves the
inner circle of President B.J. Habibie trying to raise money to
bankroll Habibie's election in November.
The Bank Bali scandal stems from the transfer of Rp 546
billion (about US$80 million at the June rate) from the bank to
politically well-connected PT Era Giat Prima in June as a
commission for helping the bank recoup some Rp 904 billion in
interbank loans.
It was unnecessary for the bank to use the services of EGP
because the loans were covered by the government guarantee on
bank deposits and claims.
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia deputy governor Miranda Goeltom said
on Thursday that a satisfactory resolution of the Bank Bali
scandal was crucial to help strengthen the exchange rate of the
rupiah.
"No cover ups ... and it must be resolved in a credible way,"
she told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar.
The rupiah tumbled to Rp 8,750 to the U.S. dollar on Thursday
from Rp 8,370 on Wednesday amid increasing political uncertainty
in the wake of the Bank Bali scandal, violence in East Timor and
a violent student demonstration protesting the House's approval
of the state security bill.
In a related development, IBRA deputy chairman Arwin Rasyid
said on Thursday that the agency had appointed Ernst and Young
consulting firm to audit some Rp 15 trillion in outstanding
interbank claims of 10 banks on closed down banks.
The audit will help the agency decide whether the claims are
eligible for the government blanket guarantee program, he said.
(rei/udi)