Louise Williams, Jakarta – Indonesia's former president has threatened to sue those claiming he abused his power to amass a personal fortune during his 32-year rule. Mr Soeharto issued the warning after his first meeting with the two senior officials charged with investigating his wealth.

The Attorney-General, Mr Andi Ghalid, announced yesterday that he and the Minister for Administrative Reform, Mr Hartarto Sastrosoenarto, had visited Mr Soeharto at his home on Monday night to clear up issues under investigation.

Mr Ghalid said the former president had repeated his denial that he held any bank accounts, other money or assets outside the country, and promised to submit a register of his personal wealth within Indonesia to the Habibie Government. "If there is any evidence from anybody that he has an account outside the country, the name of the bank should be declared," Mr Ghalid said.

He said Mr Soeharto had promised to sign a power of attorney to allow a full investigation of all his accounts. Mr Soeharto told Mr Ghalid that if any money was found deposited under his name it did not belong to him, and the persons who deposited the funds should be charged. "Until now we still have no evidence that would make Soeharto a suspect in this investigation," Mr Ghalid told reporters. "If the reports about his wealth are not proved then he will take legal action against those who have made the claims, he will sue them."

The growing calls for an investigation into the Soeharto family's wealth are a major headache for the Government. The President, Dr B.J. Habibie, was one of Mr Soeharto's closest friends and has been widely criticised for enjoying business advantages under his rule.

Analysts fear the investigation will fail to trace the fortunes of the former president and his six wealthy children because too many members of the Habibie administration benefited from what is known as KKN – an acronym of local terms for corruption, collusion and nepotism.

"It will be very difficult to prove anything and everyone's hands are dirty, so Habibie is moving very, very slowly," said a Jakarta-based diplomat. "He has to show he means business, but I think Soeharto is throwing out a challenge to Habibie – if he pushes him too hard, Soeharto will come up with evidence Habibie also benefited." Some estimates put the wealth of the Soeharto family as high as $66 billion but other say it is only about $6.5 billion.