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)