Indonesia to hire foreign investigator

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie has agreed to hire a foreign private investigator to trace any money obtained through graft and deposited abroad by Indonesians, including assets allegedly owned by former president Soeharto and his children, Minister of Justice disclosed on Monday.

"There is a need for an international private investigator to track money obtained through laundering and corruption... and the President has approved it," Muladi said after meeting with the President and Attorney General Lt. Gen. Andi M. Ghalib at Habibie's residence in Patra Kuningan, South Jakarta.

The minister emphasized the private money tracker would not only target the former first family and their cronies, but also any citizens suspected of transferring money thought to be obtained through graft.

Muladi said the President's decision was based on a recommendation by himself and Ghalib following their recent trip to Austria and Switzerland, which he described as a successful trip.

According to Muladi, a professor of law, the government would select one of the world's best investigators, but quickly excluded professional money tracker Kroll Associates from the list.

He acknowledged that the government previously hired the company to investigate businessman Eddy Tansil, who was found guilty of taking more than US$430 million from state Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo) for the construction of several chemical factories under his Golden Key Group in a credit scam run between 1989 and 1990.

Eddy escaped from Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta in May 1996, with many believing he fled to China. The government never released the results of the Kroll investigation.

"This time we will not use Kroll, but will select a similar company," Muladi said without elaborating.

The two Cabinet ministers reported the result of their visit to the two countries to follow up a recent report of Time magazine in which it claimed the Soehartos transferred US$9 billion from Switzerland to an Austrian bank shortly after Soeharto resigned as president in May last year.

Muladi claimed the two countries agreed to closely cooperate with Indonesia in hunting down Soeharto's alleged wealth. He was confident that the government would be able to resolve the mystery of the money in a few months.

He said the government would also take steps to enter agreements on mutual assistance on criminal matters with Austria and Switzerland in paving the way for the probe.

He acknowledged the two governments required Indonesia to submit requests for such agreements to them.

"There is an urgent need for efforts to enter agreements on mutual assistance on criminal matters between Indonesia and Switzerland and Austria," Muladi said.

Muladi added that Indonesia was also obliged to have a law on money laundering. He claimed his ministry had finished drafting a bill and would soon submit it to the House of Representatives (DPR).

Warning

Muladi also warned Soeharto and his children to be more cooperative with the government and stop hiding their wealth. He said it would be dangerous for them if they continued hiding the facts because people would eventually learn the truth.

The minister pointed out the government had collected preliminary evidence on their wealth, and that the former president was not free from any wrongdoing during his tenure.

He said the management of Soeharto's foundations and the decrees he issued for his children's businesses could become evidence of abuses of power.

"The situation will be worse for them (if they are not honest)," warned Muladi. (prb)