The Bank Bali saga

The Bank Bali saga

The truth about the Bank Bali scandal is slowly unfolding, as
one by one the main players relent and begin revealing bits and
pieces of information about their involvement in testimony at the
House of Representatives. We are now well into the second month
since Baligate hit newspaper headlines, but have only seen a few
of the pieces which make up this mysterious jigsaw puzzle. It
will likely be sometime before we get to the bottom of the case,
as most of the major players are uncooperative and unwilling to
volunteer information, unless they are forced to do so. What they
have done so far is to provide information that incriminates
people other than themselves. Since the end is nowhere near in
sight, we may as well sit back and enjoy the show.

The Bank Bali scandal is turning into a long-running saga
which has almost all the elements of a melodrama or soap opera.
It is about huge sums of money involving people in high places,
if not the President -- an allegation which is yet to be
substantiated -- then certainly of people in his circle. In the
most recent revelations in House testimony, the scandal has
revealed backstabbing and betrayal. The bank could not have
picked a more exotic name. There has been no murder, thank God,
but there have been threats made to the lives of the whistle-
blowers. The only thing missing in the picture is that there is
no sex scandal. It would certainly liven up this otherwise dull
all-male cast, which has nevertheless kept the nation if not in
suspense, then certainly amused.

Last week's testimony by former Bank Bali president Rudy Ramli
shed a little light on the case, just as we thought the scandal,
like others involving people in high places in this country, had
been buried and forgotten. For a short while, momentum in the
case had stalled, as public attention was drawn to allegations of
other scandals involving other banks and other players. Rudy's
testimony shifted the focus back onto the key question that has
been left unanswered: who masterminded the affair?

There is no doubt in everyone's minds that what happened in
Bank Bali was a daylight robbery of taxpayers' money. Bank Bali,
as one of the nation's reputable and conservatively managed
banks, fell prey to a game played by shrewd politicians. The bank
was trying to recoup interbank loans from banks which had been
taken over by the government. Management was on the verge of
giving up the attempt when along came two well-connected
businessmen offering services to recover the loans, at a 60
percent commission. They recovered the money, obviously in
collusion with people in the government, and collected the
commission, about US$80 million in all. Bank Bali has now been
taken over by the Standard Chartered Bank, but it is eligible for
the massive government bailout recapitalization program.

This much we know. But where that commission money ended up
remains a mystery, as long as Bank Indonesia refuses, under the
pretext of bank secrecy laws, to allow investigators trace
payments of the commission. There are no shortage of theories,
including one that claims the funds went to the coffers of a
special team to secure the election of President B.J. Habibie in
November. This theory gained currency after Rudy's claim that
during his negotiations to recoup the bank's money he went to a
meeting attended by people from Habibie's inner circle.

The players -- in their attempts to cover up their own, or
their bosses' complicity -- are giving conflicting testimonies
that muddle the situation. This explains why progress in trying
to unravel the case has been painfully slow. Police have barely
began their own investigation, leaving the House of
Representatives to take the initiative and summon all the major
players in the scandal.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank appear to
be less patient than most Indonesians. They are withholding
further disbursement of aid to Indonesia, pending satisfactory
clarification of the Bank Bali scandal. It is doubtful whether
their threats will speed up the search for the truth. They, like
the rest of the people in this country, will just have to watch
the melodrama being played out, and pray that there will be a
happy ending, not for the players, but for the nation.