Soeharto 'may face corruption charges'

JAKARTA (JP): Further checks are needed before former president Soeharto can be declared a suspect in a corruption case, Attorney General Andi Ghalib said Wednesday.

"Based on information obtained from those questioned, it looks like it is heading the way of Soeharto becoming a suspect, but we cannot immediately say so. We have to recheck the evidence," Ghalib told reporters.

He said his office is in the process of cross-checking the results of Soeharto's questioning with that of former ministers and government officials concerned.

"After all the evidence has been collected, we will cross- check for the truth with each party concerned, from former directors general, former ministers, and former officials. Then we will see what Soeharto's position is, and whether it is strong enough to name him as a suspect. Then we will take the next step," Ghalib said.

Ghalib specifically mentioned a corruption case over a tax- exempt national car project headed by Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, and the issuance of presidential and ministerial decrees on it.

Soeharto and his former key aides -- including former industry and trade ministers Tunky Ariwibowo and Muhammad "Bob" Hasan and former minister of finance Mar'ie Muhammad -- have been recently questioned over the car project.

Under the program, PT Timor Putra National, a company controlled by Tommy, was given a multi-million dollar soft loan from a consortium of 16 banks, including state banks, to produce the so-called Timor national car. It was also given huge tax exemption for the import of the cars from South Korea.

On Wednesday, former director general for custom and excise Soehardjo was also questioned over the tax facilities.

Accompanied by his lawyer Amin Aryoso, Soehardjo told the investigators he was in the position to implement the 1996 presidential and ministerial decrees on the tax facilities, according to the Attorney General Office's spokesman Barman Zahir.

Meanwhile, Ghalib insisted the political meeting between Soeharto and Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid would not detract from his office's investigation into the allegations of corruption in the car project.

"The investigation will continue because it has nothing to do with the national dialog involving Soeharto," he said.

Asked for comment about the lawsuit filed by Timor Putra National against the Attorney General's Office, Ghalib said both he and his office were ready to face up to it.

"We are ready to face any lawsuits... We have faced numerous lawsuits over government decisions and policies... the President, the minister of defense and security, the chief of the National Police, have all faced lawsuits, and we too are ready to face them," he said.

Sudjono, Timor Putra's lawyer, said the company had refused to pay Rp 3.09 trillion in back taxes and import duties to the government because it was not stipulated in the World Trade Organization's decision and, on the contrary, would sue the government in an attempt to be exempted from the obligation.

"Despite its closure, Timor Putra cannot be obliged to pay taxes which were already a facility for the company," he said.

He said his client filed the lawsuit against the minister of finance in the Central Jakarta Court on Dec. 17, a day before the deadline set by the government for the company to pay the taxes.

The government asked Timor Putra to meet the tax obligation following the recent decision by the WTO Disputes Settlement Body and the agreement between the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that all facilities given to Timor Putra were to be lifted.

Sudjono pledged that his party would uncover corrupt and nepotistic practices and collusion which were rampant behind the car industry which has caused huge material losses to the company. (rms/prb)