Legislators urge seizure of Soeharto's vast assets

Legislators urge seizure of Soeharto's vast assets

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Any ill-gotten wealth belonging to ailing former president
Soeharto should be confiscated, despite the failure to take him
to court due to his deteriorating health, senior legislators said
on Thursday.

House of Representatives deputy speaker A.M. Fatwa said if the
former dictator could not be put on trial because of poor health,
his family members could become the next targets of justice on
corruption charges.

"We should look into his family because the wealth is not in
Soeharto's hands. He is only a symbol. Alternatively, the state
can seize Soeharto's assets," he said.

Fatwa, who was once jailed for organizing an antigovernment
protest during Soeharto's iron-fist rule, said the stalled legal
process of the former president could justify the seizure of his
assets.

Soeharto, 80, remains in a critical condition after being
rushed to Pertamina Hospital on Monday to be treated for
pneumonia.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung agreed with Fatwa, saying the
legal authorities could go after Soeharto's family to get back
the vast assets they had unlawfully amassed during his 32-year
rule.

"As long as there is an indication and evidence we can carry
it (prosecution) out," he said.

The suggestions came as President Megawati Soekarnoputri
reportedly considers, for humanitarian reasons, dropping all
corruption charges against the country's former strongman whose
regime ended in May 1998.

However, legislator Sayuti Rahawarin doubted the authorities'
ability to seize Soeharto's wealth, unless they managed to
untangle the complex network in which his assets are believed to
be hidden.

"Several officials are permanently involved in it (the
network), but they have not been bothered so far," Sayuti told
The Jakarta Post.

Hopes were high in 1999 that the government would seize
Soeharto's alleged ill-gotten wealth when then-president BJ
Habibie sent a team to Switzerland and Austria to trace the
assets.

However, the hopes were dashed when then justice minister
Muladi and attorney general Andi M. Ghalib failed to uncover
clues as to the whereabouts of the assets that, according to Time
magazine, amounted to approximately US$15 billion.

The magazine said that soon after Soeharto quit the
presidency, he transferred $9 billion of his assets from a bank
account in Switzerland to another in Austria.

"I have heard the assets were transferred to someone else's
account. This would make it difficult for the government to trace
them," Sayuti said.

The authorities have charged Soeharto with misusing $571
million in state funds, but have refrained from investigating him
on charges of power abuse during his authoritarian rule.

Akbar also urged the authorities to take Soeharto's
deteriorating health into serious consideration before deciding
to continue the legal process against him.

"It's only for humanitarian reasons," he added.

However, Akbar stressed that although Soeharto had given an
accountability speech before the legislature every five years
during his tenure, many of his detrimental policies could still
be processed through legal procedures.

Sayuti agreed with Akbar, saying about 300 presidential
decrees issued by Soeharto favored his families and cronies. He
did not elaborate.