Jenny Grant, Jakarta – The charitable foundations controlled by former president Suharto lent more money to his cronies than they gave to charity, the Attorney-General said yesterday. Attorney-General Andi Ghalib also confirmed Mr Suharto would be questioned tomorrow and two former ministers would be interrogated at his office today.

Mr Ghalib did not reveal the extent of the foundation's loans, but told a parliamentary hearing that, according to a recent audit by his department, a large amount of the funds were lent to third parties close to Mr Suharto.

The funds used for charitable goals were lower than funds distributed to those third parties, he told the hearing. "The funds were mostly used with special facilities, [with the help of] presidential decrees and ministerial decrees," he said. The foundations held assets worth US$530 million. Mr Suharto handed over the assets to the Government last month.

Timber tycoon Mohamad "Bob" Hasan and Tungky Ariwibowo, both former trade ministers, will give evidence today. Mr Ariwibowo will be grilled over the national car project, a monopoly handed to Mr Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, when Mr Ariwibowo was minister.

Mr Hasan, a golfing buddy of the ex-president, is also deeply involved with the Dhamais foundation, a health charity. His Nusamba group received massive capital injections from at least three of the foundations. Dhamais official Hediyanto will also be questioned today.

Mr Ghalib rejected accusations by the MPs that he was soft pedalling on the Suharto investigation. "I'm brave enough," he told parliamentarians during the four-hour session, after announcing his team had found another private bank account of Mr Suharto.

Mr Suharto's bank assets are now put at 24.8 billion rupiah. His real wealth is estimated to be between US$4 and US$20 billion. The Attorney-General's office has formally named former president Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, as a suspect in an illegal land swap involving 23 hectares in north Jakarta that cost the state 52.5 billion rupiah, the Republika daily reported.