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)