Subject: [cwj 82] Marubeni unit tied to Suharto embezzlement case
From: Corporate Watch in Japanese <cwj@corpwatch.org>
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 11:53:49 -0700
Seq: 82
August 23, 2000 Marubeni unit tied to Suharto embezzlement case JAKARTA (Kyodo) A subsidiary of Marubeni Corp. donated at least $330,000 to a charity foundation from which former Indonesian President Suharto allegedly embezzled millions, according to prosecution dossiers submitted to an Indonesian court. Among the 3,500 pages submitted to the South Jakarta District Court earlier this month are the names of 43 individuals, conglomerates, and state and private companies who together had donated about 215 billion rupiah ($26 million at current rates) by July 1999 to "Yayasan Supersemar," established by the 79-year-old former Indonesian leader in 1974. Marubeni International Petroleum Co.'s (MIPCO) donation of 623.75 million rupiah was the 15th-largest contribution to the foundation. According to Yoshio Fujimoto, a corporate vice president and managing director of Marubeni Corp., MIPCO was established in Hong Kong in January 1979 to deal with international petroleum trading. "Although we checked records, we could not confirm if MIPCO donated money to the foundation or not because MIPCO was dismantled in March 1990," said Fujimoto, who deals with Indonesia for the trading house. However, testimony by foundation treasurer Sabrono Slamet, who was questioned by a prosecutor on June 20, suggests that MIPCO contributed to the foundation. Sabrono could not be reached for comment. During the period MIPCO was operating, the rupiah was four to 13 times more valuable than its current worth, around 8,250 per U.S. dollar, making the MIPCO donation worth between $330,000 and $1 million at the time. Prosecution dossiers include testimony from 134 witnesses questioned by the Attorney General's Office after Attorney General Maruzuki Darusman reopened the corruption case against Suharto in October. In his testimony, Sabrono told a prosecutor that the biggest contributor to Yayasan Supersemar was the Nusamba Group conglomerate headed by timber tycoon Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, who was a prominent member of Suharto's entourage. It made donations of more than 7 billion rupiah. Prosecutors indicted Suharto on Aug. 8, charging him with embezzling $571 million in state money through seven charity foundations, including Yayasan Supersemar, that he had established during his presidency. According to the dossiers, the former strongman used money collected by the foundations to invest in companies run by his children and his cronies and then reaped huge profits from the investments. Suharto could face a maximum penalty of life in prison if he is convicted of illegally using public money. His lawyers have insisted Suharto is too ill to stand trial and that even if he were able to appear before the judges, his testimony would be unclear because of poor memory caused by strokes. Suharto was above the law during his 32 years in power, making the latest move by the government a milestone to show that the law is now supreme in Indonesia. President Abdurrahman Wahid has said the former dictator could be pardoned by presidential decree if he returns the embezzled money to the state, even if he is found guilty by the court. The Japan Times: Aug. 23, 2000 FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Corporate Watch in Japanese is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability, human rights, economic democracy and social justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. ------------------------------------- Corporate Watch in Japanese Transnational Resource and Action Center (TRAC) P.O. Box 29344 San Francisco, CA 94129 USA Tel: 1-415-561-6472 Fax: 1-415-561-6493 Email: cwj@corpwatch.org URL: http://www.corpwatch-jp.org ------------------------------------- ______________________ The Corporate Watch in Japanese http://www.corpwatch.org/japan (CWJ) mailing list is a moderated email list in English designed to connect activists campaigning against Japanese corporations and investments around the world. * To unsubscribe from the CWJ mailing list, send an email to majordomo@jca.apc.org with text "unsubscribe cwj". To subscribe to the CWJ mailing list, send a message to majordomo@jca.apc.org with the text "subscribe cwj" * The CWJ mailing list is NOT intended for wide distribution. If you would like to post messages from this list somewhere else, we ask that you first contact us at cwj@corpwatch.org ______________________