CAPITALISM'S ACHILLES HEEL Dirty Money and How to

74 CAPITALISM’S ACHILLES HEEL
investments and the activities of Suharto hangers-on, put the number at
more than 3,200 companies. 46 Table 3.3 is a partial listing of family interests,
current or past, documented or alleged, in some cases reflecting the activities
of close cronies and foreign companies patronizing the ruling clan.
George Aditjondro alleges that a number of Dutch banks have been especially
close to the Suhartos, providing “an international financial network
for the Soehartos to globalise their businesses.” 47 He names MeesPierson,
ABN-AMRO, ING Bank, and Rabo Bank. He further alleges that Credit
Suisse, UBS, and Swiss Banking Corporation “have played an important
role in underwriting the fortunes of Indonesia’s First Family.” 48
The corruption of the Suhartos has corrupted many other institutions
in Indonesia. The army is deep into the charities scam, collecting money for
welfare in the ranks, while directing money to high-ranking officers. The
civil service has compiled an impressive record of bribe demands that could
go on for pages, for administrative appointments, diplomatic postings, travel
documents, airport clearances, petty approvals, licenses, and everything else
imaginable. Officials in the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations are paid to
overlook unbelievably rapacious logging, which is followed by burning hundreds
of thousands of hectares of cleared land (spreading smoke to Singapore
and Malaysia), which is followed by driving villagers off their land,
which is followed by creating huge oil palm plantations belonging to the
president’s family and friends. The central bank has been called a “den of
thieves,” with regulators taking bribes to overlook fraudulent practices in the
financial sector. Members of the judiciary buy more prestigious judgeships
and then charge litigants for favorable judgments. Foreign aid and World
Bank financing have been siphoned off for years, perhaps as much as 30 percent
going into the pockets of corrupt officials. Which all brings the country
close to the ranks of a weak or failing state, where terrorists thrive and
threaten the continuity of the nation.
Estimates of the accumulated wealth of the Suhartos are all over the
board. One of the best examinations was done by Time magazine in 1999
after Suharto’s fall, placing the amount of money that had passed through
the family’s hands at $73 billion and the amount that had remained in their
pockets at $15 billion. Time went on to report that as the regime tottered,
“$9 billion of Suharto money was transferred from Switzerland to a nominee
bank account in Austria.” 49 Angered Suhartos threatened suit and then
backed away, leaving the allegation uncontested.