Bambang says family unfazed by legal maneuvers

Bambang says family unfazed by legal maneuvers

JAKARTA (JP): The second son of former president Soeharto,
Bambang Trihatmodjo, said on Saturday that he and his family
would be ready to face legal prosecution in connection with the
ongoing investigation into his family's wealth.

"I do not feel that I've made mistakes. And I'm not a thief,
either," Bambang said after the closing ceremony of a two-day
meeting of the Armed Forces Big Family (KBA) at Taman Mini
Indonesia Indah recreational park in East Jakarta.

"So why should I hide and be afraid of the ongoing
investigation into my father's and my family's wealth?" he said
in response to questions about his relatively frequent public
appearances despite the attention his father is receiving over
alleged wrongdoings.

Bambang is the only Soeharto family member who has frequently
appeared in public since his father's resignation on May 21.

Meanwhile, his father has made routine visits to a few mosques
for Friday prayers. Soeharto has been seen praying at a mosque in
Bambang's business headquarters, the Bimantara Group building, in
Central Jakarta in the past few weeks.

Asked about the police's ongoing investigation into an alleged
scam at his liquidated bank, Bank Andromeda, Bambang said he had
not received any police summons in connection to his bank.

National Police chief detective, Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, said
on Thursday that police had arrested Nico Mailangkay and
Ismandito, Bank Andromeda directors, and requested another
director, Megawati W. Liem, to routinely report her whereabouts
to the police. Da'i, however, did not say when Bambang was
scheduled to testify in connection to the case.

Speaking about a planned cooperation between the Attorney
General's Office and the Swiss government to search for state
assets which may have been stashed in Swiss banks during
Soeharto's 32-year rule, Bambang said the investigation should
continue.

"Bapak (Soeharto) has said that anybody should feel free to
report their findings to the authorities if they find my father
has any savings or accounts abroad," he said. He added Soeharto
was ready to sign anything but did not elaborate.

He, however, reiterated his earlier statement in support of
his father's denial that Soeharto did not have any money stashed
abroad.

He also dismissed the possibility that his father had
transferred money from Swiss banks to safer and more confidential
places in the wake of the snowballing reform movement, which
ended with Soeharto's resignation.

"How can you say that money has been transferred out of
Switzerland? You can check with any of the Swiss banks whether
there were any transactions under my father's name in the past
five or 10 years," he said.

When asked about his personal wealth, Bambang claimed he was
no longer wealthy. "I might have been a rich person. But not
anymore," he said. He said he kept most of his assets, mostly in
shares, in Indonesia.

"And you must know that the value of my shares have dropped
drastically. I also have liabilities that must be paid in
dollars," he said.

"So, how can I be called a rich man now?" he asked. (imn/emf)