Soeharto probe not an investigation

Soeharto probe not an investigation

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Lt. Gen. Muhammad Ghalib
insisted yesterday that his office was not conducting an
"investigation" into the wealth of former president Soeharto, but
was merely "examining" it.

"We are still in a preliminary examination stage and we have
not instigated any investigation," Ghalib asserted, adding that
the examination was only focusing on the foundations chaired by
Soeharto.

Ghalib just smiled when journalists pressed him to answer why
the examination had not been expanded, then said that his office
needed no external assistance to undertake the task.

"The Attorney General's office is perfectly capable," he
remarked.

In its July 6 issue, Forbes magazine lists Soeharto's family
as one of the richest in the world, and reveals that during his
32 years in power the former president amassed stakes in about
3,200 Indonesian companies and a family fortune worth something
in the region of US$4 billion.

However, a lawyer appointed by Soeharto has said on television
that the former president does not have a vast fortune and has no
bank accounts outside the country.

When Ghalib was asked by journalists whether it was possible
for someone like Soeharto not to have any offshore accounts, the
three-star general replied: "You must ask him, not me".

Ghalib maintained that it was not fair for people to denounce
Soeharto for his wealth while there was no concrete evidence of
impropriety on the part of the aging former president.

"Justice must be upheld. Pak Harto has never been declared
guilty (by court). You cannot continue accusing him. It is not
fair to accuse someone without proof," Ghalib replied when
journalists asked him how his office's examination of Soeharto's
wealth was progressing.

Ghalib only recently took over as Attorney General. He was
appointed by President B.J. Habibie in a shock move last month.
He replaced Soejono C. Atmonegoro as the country's senior legal
figure. (prb)