-Caveat Lector- Subj: IMF Orders Bank Scandal Prosecution Date: 8/16/99 11:51:25 AM Central Daylight Time From: AOL News BCC: Ahab42 IMF Orders Bank Scandal Prosecution .c The Associated Press BY HARRY DUNPHY WASHINGTON (AP) - The International Monetary Fund today demanded that Indonesia quickly and publicly investigate a banking scandal and prosecute any wrongdoers. IMF spokesman Vasuki Shastry said Stanley Fischer, the IMF's deputy managing director, telephoned Indonesian President B.J. Habibie over the weekend to make the lending agency's position clear. An audit of Bank Bali, a recently nationalized institution, showed it paid around $80 million as a commission to a finance company controlled by an official of Habibie's ruling Golkar party. Shastry said the IMF has followed the banking scandal ``with increasing concern and staff have been in intensive contact'' with Indonesian officials, culminating with Fischer's call. He said IMF officials have emphasized that a satisfactory resolution of the case ``requires a thorough and independent investigation to be completed as soon as possible. ``The results should be made public,'' he said and ``legal action should be instituted in case the law was violated and steps should be taken to ensure that such practices cease.'' Shastry said Habibie assured the IMF that a full investigation is under way. On Friday the IMF expressed alarm over the scandal and warned it could lead to a loss of investor confidence at home and abroad. The Bank Bali scandal and another one have contributed to a plunge in the value of the rupiah, the country's currency, just as the battered economy was showing signs of recovery. The IMF said it supported the appointment by Indonesia's bank restructuring organization of an independent auditor, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, to validate the agency's findings in the Bank Bali case. This is the second time in recent months that an international accounting firm has been asked to investigate irregularities in countries that have IMF loan programs. Earlier this month the IMF published a report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers into the Russian central bank's transfer of foreign exchange reserves to an offshore account in 1966. The IMF provided Indonesia and Russia with multibillion-dollar rescue programs when their economies collapsed in 1997 and last year and is still making installment payments. Russia obtained a $4.5 billion loan from the IMF in early August and Indonesia received $460 million. Additional IMF loans to both governments are due to be made later this year. AP-NY-08-16-99 1251EDT Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. Announcement: America Online has added Reuters newswires to News Profiles. To add Reuters articles to your daily news delivery, go to KW: <A HREF="aol://5862:146">News Profiles</A> and click on "Modify Your News Profiles." Then click "Edit" and add Reuters from the list on the left. To edit your profile, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:NewsProfiles">NewsProfiles</A>. For all of today's news, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:News">News</A>. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
