Soeharto to face trial for alleged graft on state funds
Soeharto to face trial for alleged graft on state funds
JAKARTA (JP): State prosecutors are ready to file charges
against former president Soeharto for misusing Rp 1.4 trillion
(around US$155 million) of state funds that have gone to his
seven tax-free charity foundations.
Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Wednesday however
that 79-year-old Soeharto will be tried in his capacity as the
owner of the foundations, thus dismissing previous speculation
that the former ruler would be accused of abusing his power to
amass wealth through the foundations.
"As the president at that time, Soeharto had the right to
issue such decrees and regulations (to raise funds)," he told
journalists after the final expose of Soeharto's graft case which
also marked the end of an eight-month long investigation into the
case.
The high-profile case was reopened in December soon after
Marzuki found new evidence of Soeharto's abuse of power in
issuing various regulations to amass massive wealth through his
foundations.
Until last year, state-owned enterprises and highly profitable
companies were obliged to donate a certain percentage of their
net income to the foundations.
The dossier is now in the hands of Director of Prosecutions
Mochtar Arifin, who is slated to hand over the dossier to the
Jakarta Provincial Prosecutor's Office on Thursday.
On Aug. 2, the prosecutor's office is expected to file the
case with the South Jakarta District Court, where most of the
evidence and witnesses in the case are situated.
Director of Investigation Ris Pandapotan Sihombing said that
Soeharto is primarily charged with violating article 1(a) of Law
No. 3/1971 on Corruption Crimes for deliberately enriching
himself at the state's expense.
Soeharto is also subject to secondary charges as stipulated in
the corruption law article 1(b), where someone may be convicted
for abusing power so as to cause losses to the state, Sihombing
said.
The crimes carry a maximum life sentence and a minimum 20
years of imprisonment, plus a maximum fine of Rp 30 million.
Antasari Azhar, a state prosecutor handling the case, had
earlier said the investigation process would only consider
Soeharto's involvement as the foundations' owner "for violating
the charity foundations' statutes."
Part of the foundations' funds were used for business
concerns.
Two of the foundations, namely Dharmais and Dana Karya Abadi,
had each "entrusted" a Rp 225 billion fund to the Nusamba Group
owned by timber tycoon Mohamad "Bob" Hasan which was used to
build the paper company PT Kiani Kertas and the pulp company PT
Kiani Lestari.
Chairmen of the foundations admitted that the income from the
shares in these companies were used to perpetuate the funds'
resources.
Antasari said 76 witnesses will be presented at the trial out
of the 140 witnesses questioned this far.
Separately on Wednesday, Teten Masduki, chairman of the
watchdog Indonesian Corruption Watch, doubted the seriousness of
Marzuki in securing Soeharto's conviction, saying such obscure
charges could benefit Soeharto.
"I'm afraid this is the way in which Marzuki is going to let
Soeharto slip the noose as the ones who are most responsible in
the case must be those who used the money or the foundation
executives themselves," he said on the sidelines of a seminar
here.
"The government should admit it doesn't have the political
capacity to ensnare Soeharto. Just ask Soeharto to confess his
crimes. If he refuses, force him by threatening that the state
protection afforded to him will be withdrawn," he added. (bby)