Hunt goes on for Soeharto's 'riches'

Hunt goes on for Soeharto's 'riches'

JAKARTA (JP): Two senior Cabinet members will travel to
Switzerland and Austria this weekend to trace a reported US$9
billion fortune allegedly belonging to former president Soeharto,
despite prevailing concerns their investigation will hit a dead
end.

Minister of Justice Muladi said on Thursday he and Attorney
General Lt. Gen. Andi M. Ghalib would leave on Sunday following
consultations with experts and officials, including
representatives of the U.S., Swiss and Austrian embassies.

However, the investigation is limited to any assets held in
Soeharto's name and does not encompass his six children.

"I am neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic. We will do
our utmost because this is a difficult mission," Muladi said.

U.S. Ambassador Stapleton Roy, Swiss Ambassador Hemr Gerald
Forjalliz and the Austrian embassy's first secretary Eleonora
Windisch were invited to Merdeka Palace by President B.J. Habibie
to discuss and provide assistance on the matter.

Habibie ordered Muladi and Ghalib to travel to Europe to
follow up on a report by Time last week that $9 billion was
transferred from a Swiss bank to an Austrian bank a few days
after Soeharto resigned from the presidency in May last year. The
magazine traced ownership of the funds to the Soeharto family.

Earlier on Thursday, Soeharto visited Ghalib's office to
present a letter empowering the attorney general to investigate
any wealth found abroad in his name.

Although he insisted he held no assets abroad, Soeharto
promised to relinquish anything the government might find in his
name during the trip.

He arrived at the Attorney General's Office at 6.45 a.m.,
accompanied by lawyers Juan Felix Tampubolon and Indiarto
Senoadji.

"As I promised last year, I will always help the Attorney
General's Office to probe the allegations of corruption,
collusion and nepotism against me," he said after the 45-minute
closed door meeting with Ghalib,

Soeharto also stressed that if the Attorney General's Office
found any bank accounts in his name, he would provide the money
to the government to be used for the Indonesian people's needs.

He also vowed to pursue legal action against anybody who
misused his name if the Attorney General's Office found bank
accounts registered to him.

Soeharto's assertions and the government's mission are
restricted to tracing any assets in his name, but not that of his
children, who built business empires during his years in power.

Swiss and Austrian banking authorities on Wednesday also
doubted Time's claim that the money belonged to Soeharto.

The Swiss banking commission pointed at the tight Swiss
banking laws against dealing with powerful foreign politicians.
The Austrian ministry of interior, which oversees local banks,
said it could not confirm the newsmagazine's claim.

Bank Indonesia said on Thursday it also offered to help the
government by contacting central banks in other countries.

"In principle, we can use our relationship with overseas
central banks," Sjahril said.

He warned it should not be assumed the central banks would
automatically provide the data because there were terms on
information disclosure at each institution.

U.S. Ambassador Roy said after his meeting with Habibie that
while the U.S. government had no confidence in the transfer of
money as Time reported, it was willing to lend assistance to the
Indonesian government.

Time said the massive transfer in May last year caught the
attention of the U.S. Treasury, which tracks such movements, and
set in motion diplomatic inquiries in Vienna.

Ambassador Forjalliz said he informed the President of the
legal requirements which Indonesia must fulfill in investigating
Soeharto's wealth in Switzerland.

"Normally the country has to make criminal process, criminal
procedures, against the person, in this case against Mr.
Soeharto, and after that it has to ask the Swiss government
through the (Indonesian) embassy in Bern ... to do an
investigation."

Soeharto has not been indicted and nor is he a suspect in any
corruption investigation.

Muladi said he would present a letter from Habibie to Swiss
president Arnold Koller and Austrian leader Thomas Klestil
requesting their governments' cooperation.

He appeared irritated when journalists questioned his decision
to go ahead with the mission despite widespread skepticism. "I am
a professor of law, and I am not a stupid professor," he said.

The government, he added, would not hesitate to hire private
investigators -- including professional money tracker Kroll
Associates -- if it could not resolve the problem.

"I have not discussed it with him (Habibie), but I believe
that he will agree," he said.

Meanwhile, Golkar Party stepped up its attempt to regain the
public's trust on Thursday by demanding the government place
Soeharto under city arrest.

Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung said before a campaign rally at
Sriwedari Stadium in Surakarta, Central Java, the party would
inform President B.J. Habibie of its demand.

Akbar said a legal settlement of the case against Soeharto
should be reached before the General Session of the People's
Consultative Assembly scheduled for November.

"Give the government a chance, but if (the measures are)
unsatisfactory we will urge them to take effective steps
concerning Pak Harto's case, including city arrest," Akbar was
quoted by Antara as saying.

However, Akbar said that while pursuing the case, the
government should continue to presume that Soeharto is innocent.
Soeharto, who will turn 78 in June, has said he will not leave
the country.

Golkar has named Habibie its sole presidential candidate, but
Akbar said perceived foot-dragging in the investigation of
Soeharto could spoil his presidential bid.

Long seen as Soeharto's vehicle to maintain his hold on power
during his 32-year reign, Golkar has repeatedly pledged to make a
complete break with its past. (prb/emf/rei)