Bambang denies misusing funds

Bambang denies misusing funds

JAKARTA (JP): Bambang Trihatmodjo, the second son of former
president Soeharto, denied on Tuesday allegations that charity
funds controlled by his father had been diverted into business
interests.

Bambang denied that there had been any movement at all when
asked whether assets or funds of the Dana Sejahtera Mandiri
foundation, of which he was treasurer, had gone to business
interests.

He was questioned for almost three hours at the Attorney
General's Office where he was accompanied by three lawyers
including Juan Felix Tampubolon and Indriyanto Senoaji, who also
represents Soeharto.

"I came to answer the summons from the Attorney General's
Office in order to give information about my job as treasurer of
the Dana Sejahtera Mandiri foundation," Bambang said.

"The funds were only for social interests, for public welfare
and the foster parents program," Bambang added.

In September, Coordinating Minister for Development
Supervision and State Administrative Reform Hartarto said the
Attorney General's Office had found what he called signs of abuse
of funds in the five largest of Soeharto's charitable foundations
including Mandiri.

He said there was evidence the funds had not been used
according to the foundations' charters.

Barman Zahir, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office,
said Bambang told investigators on Tuesday that none of Mandiri's
funds were used for business and that they were channeled only to
people's welfare programs in the form of grants or loans and for
a foster parents program.

Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib said last week that evidence
of criminal corruption would be needed to put Soeharto on
charges.

Soeharto, who in November handed over Mandiri and six other
charity foundations, worth some four trillion rupiah (US$ 530
million), to the government, is being investigated over
allegations of corruption during his 32 years in power.

The veteran leader was summoned this month to be questioned
over his charity foundations, his controversial national car
program, his bank deposits, land and other assets.

The Attorney General's Office however has not declared
Soeharto a suspect as he says further checks on other former
officials and relatives were needed.

Legal experts, however, said there was enough evidence of ill-
gotten wealth to bring him to court.

The Attorney General's Office has summoned numerous figures
including former finance minister Mar'ie Muhammad, former
industry and trade minister Tungky Ariwibowo and timber tycoon
Muhammad "Bob" Hasan.

The government has slapped a travel ban on Bambang in
connection with the investigation into his troubled bank.

The Attorney General's Office had earlier estimated Soeharto-
chaired foundations worth over four trillion rupiah (US$ 532
million).

Though the office has yet to find evidence of Soeharto's
personal use of the funds, Ghalib told the House of
Representatives earlier this month that some practices, such as
channeling the foundation's funds into businesses through the use
of presidential decrees and various other government decrees,
failed to reflect the people's sense of justice and had violated
the principle of good governance.

"On the basis of facts and data, a large proportion of the
foundations' funds were used by third parties close to Soeharto,"
he said then.

While these practices were beyond judicial bounds, as no laws
regulated the issue, Ghalib described the practices as
inappropriate. (byg)