Riadys drop plan to buy U.S. bank

Riadys drop plan to buy U.S. bank

NEW YORK (AP): Longtime Indonesian supporters of President
Bill Clinton dropped their plan to buy a California bank after
their family's name was linked to the Democratic Party campaign
finance scandal, The New York Times reported yesterday.

Business associates told the Times that the Riady family
decided to postpone the deal, which would have run into the
billions of dollars, because it feared its strong ties to China
and history of regulatory problems with other banks it owned in
this country would become embroiled in the scandal.

The family had decided it needed to control a bank accessible
to the West Coast residents it hopes to do business with in
Indonesia, China, and elsewhere in Asia, Riady associates told
the newspaper.

Family members were in the process of contacting banks in
California about a purchase when the campaign finance scandal
surfaced.

The Riadys and their U.S. representative, John Huang, have
been the focus of campaign finance inquiries since it was
disclosed that the Indonesian family used its influence to get
Huang a job in the U.S. Commerce Department.

The report that the Riadys planned to invest hundreds of
millions of dollars in the bank was the first indication the
family might have required the help of government agencies and
regulators.

It was previously unclear why the family would want to
influence Washington, except to impress colleagues back home with
its U.S. connections, according to the report.

The White House special counsel, Lanny Davis, told the
newspaper he "did not have the ability today" to determine
whether President Clinton or first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
were aware that the Riadys intended to buy a bank.

The acquisition also would have required approval from
regulators who had repeatedly criticized the Riadys' banking
practices over the past decade.