03:14 PM ET 12/07/98
Suharto To Face Questioning
*1104< AP-Indonesia-Corruption<,0414
Suharto To Face Questioning
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) _ Indonesia's attorney general said
Monday he would question former President Suharto this week, but
stressed the ex-leader had not been accused of any crime.
Attorney General Andi Mohammad Ghalib told lawmakers he would
question Suharto on Wednesday concerning corruption allegations,
but added: ''We have to be careful and not carelessly say that he
is a suspect. ... Otherwise (our investigations) could be
reversed.''
Suharto, 77, was forced to resign in May amid a wave of protests
and riots. Since then, his opponents have demanded that he be
prosecuted for alleged graft and human rights abuses during his
32-year rule.
Earlier this year, Forbes magazine estimated Suharto's wealth at
$4 billion. Suharto has denied he illegally enriched himself, his
family and his cronies during his rule, or that he stashed a
fortune away in foreign bank accounts.
Ghalib questioned Suharto several months ago during an earlier
investigation that failed to find any evidence against the former
president.
Suharto's successor and onetime protege, President B.J. Habibie,
last week ordered Ghalib to step up his investigation after a new
wave of student protests in Jakarta.
The attorney general's office also plans to question former
trade and industry ministers Mohamad Hasan and Tunky Ariwibowo on
Tuesday, an official said.
Spokesman Barman Zahir said Hasan, a timber tycoon and close
Suharto associate, would be questioned about his involvement in
seven charitable foundations linked to the former president.
He said Tunky would be asked about his role in a so-called
''national car'' project, through which Suharto's son, Hutomo
Mandala Putra, was licensed to import cars from Korea's Kia Motors
Corp. without having to pay import tariffs.
In a written submission to Parliament, Ghalib said Suharto had
handed over seven charitable foundations worth $530 million that
were established during his three decades in power.
He said a check of about 70 Indonesian banks had uncovered five
bank accounts worth $3.1 million registered in Suharto's name.
In addition, Suharto owned about 25 acres of land in the
capital, Jakarta, 75 acres in Yogyakarta and 665,000 acres of
forest on the island of Borneo, he said.
''Currently, we are investigating whether those assets were
acquired illegally,'' Ghalib said. |
