Swiss offers help but no freeze on Soeharto assets

JAKARTA (Agencies): The Swiss federal authorities in Berne on Monday told visiting Indonesian Minister of Justice Muladi and Attorney General Andi Ghalib that they were willing to help search for any assets hidden in the country by former president Soeharto, but could not immediately freeze them.

Swiss Justice Minister Ruth Metzler and Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Deiss told the Indonesian official delegation that Switzerland was ready to help, but that "the way to obtain such assistance is for the Indonesian authorities to submit an official request for international mutual assistance," the ministers said in a joint statement, reported by Reuters.

As reported earlier, Muladi and Ghalib, plus three other officials, were in Berne on President B.J. Habibie's assignment to clarify a Time report of the alleged transfer of US$9 billion by Soeharto from a Swiss bank to an account in Austria.

From Switzerland, the delegation will then go to Austria.

Separately, the Berne Declaration, a Swiss advocacy group, on Monday made public a letter dated May 29 addressed to Ghalib and Muladi urging them to freeze and repatriate Soeharto's wealth.

"We call on you to prosecute former president Soeharto and other members of his family based on the evidence which has been produced so far, and to request international legal assistance from the governments in Switzerland and other countries in order to freeze, investigate, and repatriate ill-gotten wealth of the Soeharto family," the group wrote in the letter.

The Berne Declaration cited data compiled by critics George J. Aditjondro about the links between the Soehartos and Swiss banks and corporations.

It added that Soeharto and his children had made at least three private visits to Switzerland between 1996 and 1998.

Switzerland froze assets belonging to ex-dictator Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines almost immediately after he was ousted in 1986.

U.S.-based Time magazine in its May 24 edition published reports that Soeharto and his family built up a $15 billion fortune.

Soeharto, who will be 78 next Tuesday, has appeared on television here to deny the reports and has threatened legal action against the weekly.

Indonesia's former strongman visited Ghalib's office in South Jakarta last Thursday to give the government power of attorney to trace and seize any overseas accounts registered under his name.

One of his lawyers, Juan Felix Tampubolon, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday night that Soeharto was scheduled to file a lawsuit against the magazine at National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Wednesday morning.

"We plan to go to the headquarters at 7:30 a.m.," he said.

"They (Time) give us no choice. We'll go through this process to find justice," Juan said.

A day after Soeharto's appearance at Ghalib's office, the Attorney General's Office summoned his second son, Bambang Trihatmodjo, for questioning about the latter's alleged $3 billion wealth reported by Time.

Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardijanti "Tutut" Rukmana, came to the office for the same reason, with the magazine estimating her wealth at $700 million.

Like their father, the two children of the former first family were guarded by plain clothes military officers.

On Tuesday, the former president's eldest son, Sigit Harjojudanto, appeared at the same office.

He was questioned for more than seven hours and had to answer 23 questions based on the same report, which estimated his wealth of $800 million.

Sigit refused to speak to reporters.

His lawyer, Juan said his client had denied Time's report but acknowledged that he and wife Elsye Sigit owned two houses in London as stated in the article.

"One of the correct details is that he has two houses in London, but one of them belongs to his wife. The other reports are inaccurate," the lawyer said.

Time reported the houses are located in exclusive residential areas of Hampstead.

Besides the houses, reported to be worth $12 million each, Sigit also admitted that he had a 40 percent of share holdings in his younger brother Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra's Humpuss Group.

He also admitted that he had a 2.5 percent share in the Bali Cliff Hotel and Nikko Bali on the country's popular resort island and a 10 percent share at PT Nusantara Ampera Bakti -- a widely diversified company partly owned by Soeharto's golfing buddy Mohamad "Bob" Hasan.

According to a tentative schedule, Tommy will take his turn today at the office. (emf)