PDI-P blames Bank Century, Bank Mutiara for debacle

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) says it has found in its investigation that the chaotic disbursement of the Bank Century bailout was the fault of its internal management.

"There are problems in the bailout policy, but the chaotic situation would have not happened without mismanagement from the bank's internal management," PDI-P's Eva Kusuma Sundari told reporters Wednesday.

Eva added that the mismanagement escalated under the management of Bank Mutiara, the rebranded Bank Century.

"We also found indications of corruption. Therefore, we think there is a connection between the policy making and the disbursement execution," she said.

The policy to bail out the bank in November 2008 was authorized by Bank Indonesia and the Finance Ministry.

"At the policy making level, Bank Indonesia's banking monitoring department carry the most responsibility," Eva said.

The bailout is considered controversial as it ballooned to Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million), ten times its initial estimate.