Soeharto says on TV he has 'not one cent' abroad

Soeharto says on TV he has 'not one cent' abroad

JAKARTA (JP): Former president Soeharto denied allegations on
Sunday night that he has a personal fortune worth trillions of
rupiah stashed both overseas and at home.

Soeharto said that many people had fueled allegations that he
had US$100 billion overseas and Rp 200 trillion (US$18 billion)
at home.

He said he faced the rumors calmly because they were not true.
"The fact is I don't have even one cent of savings abroad, don't
have accounts at foreign banks, don't have deposits abroad, and
don't even have any shares in foreign firms, much less hundreds
of billions of dollars, which leads to the question where the
figures came from."

He made the assertion in a recorded statement broadcast by TPI
television station, which is controlled by Soeharto's eldest
daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana.

American finance magazine Forbes, in its July edition,
estimated that Soeharto had a fortune worth US$4 billion
deposited overseas.

"If I'm not mistaken I was categorized as the fourth richest
person after (the United Kingdom's) Queen Elizabeth, (Saudi
Arabian) King Fahd, and (Brunei Darussalam's) Sultan Halsanah
Bolkiah..." He said that he was ready to return money to the
government if somebody had evidence that he had bank accounts
overseas.

"But, if somebody has evidence that I have bank accounts in
Switzerland, Hungary or other countries, he/she could make
contacts with Indonesian embassies to transfer it to the
Indonesian government to be used to help defuse the economic
crisis," he said, adding that he was ready 24 hours a day to put
his signature on the transfer.

It was Soeharto's second television appearance after he stood
down on May 21, 1998. The first was on July 30 when he handed
over to the government the ownership and management of Harapan
Kita Child and Maternity Hospital, Harapan Kita Cardiac Hospital
and Dharmais Cancer Hospital.

Soeharto, who was accompanied by the treasurers of the
Dharmais, Dakab, Supersemar and Trikora Foundations during the
broadcast, said he also did not have any personal wealth hidden
in the foundations he chaired.

"I have no personal wealth in the foundations. They are social
foundations which were established for social charity, and the
use of all the funds are accountable," he said, and explained the
charities.

Last Tuesday Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision
and State Administrative Reform Hartarto said the government was
still conducting legal and financial audits of foundations
sponsored by Soeharto.

Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib has said a preliminary
study found indications of misuse of the foundations' funds by
Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, who is an executive of one of the
foundations and a close crony of Soeharto.

The five foundations -- Supersemar, Amal Bhakti Muslim
Pancasila, Dharmais, Dakab and Dana Sejahtera Mandiri -- control
approximately Rp 3.7 trillion.

Soeharto said that the Attorney General's Office had yet to
find evidence that he had any personal wealth hidden in the
foundations. (rms)