JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- The Supreme Court ruled today that an independent report about the Bank Bali corruption scandal must be given to Parliament, a move that could persuade international donors to lift their suspension of billions of dollars in loans to Indonesia.
The decision ends weeks of controversy over whether the entire audit report can legally be made available for public viewing.The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japanese government have stressed that any resumption of their $4.7 billion in loans to Indonesia hinged on the publication of the Bank Bali report by the PricewaterhouseCoopers auditing firm.
"This is very good news," said Anoop Singh, the IMF's deputy Asia-Pacific director. He said the fund's management will soon consider lifting the suspension of its loans to Indonesia.
In Singapore, World Bank official Paula Donovan welcomed the court decision, saying it could eventually lead the bank to resume its loans. But she also said Indonesia must prosecute those involved in the scandal.
There was no immediate reaction from the Asian Development Bank or Japan.
Bank Bali was one of several troubled financial institutions that was closed down and broken up by the government in recent times as part of an economic reform program.
About $80 million was allegedly transferred this year from Bank Bali to a private company controlled by a senior official in President B.J. Habibie's ruling Golkar Party, allegedly for Habibie's campaign leading up to Wednesday's presidential election.
The scandal led to sharp criticism of Habibie and his government, which had vowed to reduce widespread corruption in Indonesia after taking over from President Suharto, who was driven from power in 1998 by a violent, pro-democracy movement.
The Supreme Court decided that handing over the audit to Parliament will not break any bank secrecy laws, said Usama Basiri, the head of the legal department of Indonesia's State Audit Agency, which ordered the report.
He said the ruling effectively makes the audit public because Parliament is likely to distribute copies of it once the legislators have had time to study it.
Basiri said the chairman of the audit agency, Satrio B. Judono, planned to meet with Parliament Chairman Akbar Tanjung later today to deliver a copy of the report.
So far, the government has only published a synopsis of the report, which does not name any of those responsible for the scandal. The full report is believed to contain names of senior government officials and politicians that helped orchestrate the transfer.