AG vows to hunt state assets stashed abroad

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib pledged on Friday to hunt state assets which were allegedly stashed overseas during the 32-year rule of former president Soeharto.

"We will consult with the foreign ministry to rescue the state assets stashed overseas," Ghalib told reporters after meeting Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia Grard Fonjallaz at his office in South Jakarta.

Fonjallaz said that the purpose of his visit was to explain that Switzerland's banking secrecy was "not absolute" as long as there was a formal demand from a particular country to launch investigations into a suspected bank account.

"We would not take the initiative (to launch the investigation), it has to come from the country of origin of the person (suspected of having illegally gained deposits).

"We have done that in the Marcos, Duvalier and Mobutu cases," Fonjallaz said referring to the ousted dictators of the Philippines, Haiti and Zaire respectively.

Fonjallaz however denied that the investigation into Soeharto's wealth was on the agenda during his meeting with the Attorney General.

"We will make the best of this offer... the minister of foreign affairs (Ali Alatas) has also offered to cooperate," Ghalib said.

Alatas said earlier this week that his ministry was ready to assist the Attorney General's Office in rescuing state assets possibly stashed abroad during the Soeharto era.

Ghalib came under fire after he said on Monday that he believed Soeharto's public denial to charges that he had accumulated a fortune worth trillions of rupiah during his rule.

"He is a former president, how come you would not believe a statement from Soeharto?" Ghalib said, responding to questions on Soeharto's address broadcast by the private TPI television station on Sunday.

Soeharto, in a speech on the channel controlled by his eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, said: "The fact is, I don't have even one cent of savings abroad, don't have accounts at foreign banks... let alone hundreds of billion of dollars."

Soeharto, referring to a growing clamor that he answer allegations of amassing a fortune and stand trial if necessary, also challenged anyone who claimed he was rich to present their evidence.

American magazine Forbes estimated in July that Soeharto, 77, who stepped down amid mounting public pressure on May 21, had a fortune worth US$4 billion.

A lawyer representing Soeharto called on the government and the National Commission on Human Rights on Wednesday to provide protection for the veteran ruler against slanderous and humiliating remarks. But Minister of Justice Muladi said only legal proceedings against the allegations could stop the public's comments. (byg)