Politics

Clinton Backer Pleads Guilty

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 20, 2001 / 11:11 AM EST / CBS

Indonesian businessman James Riady pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations Monday for using foreign corporate funds to contribute to Bill Clinton's 1992 and 1996 presidential races. He agreed to pay $8.6 million in fines.

U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall accepted the plea from Riady, who was a key figure in the Democratic campaign finance scandal.

"Your honor," Riady told the judge, "mistakes have been made, which I regret. I did not have to come back here but I wanted to own up to what I did and put this all behind me. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here today."

The judge noted that Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. and that Riady could have escaped prosecution if he had stayed overseas.

"There is a plea agreement in this case. The court has decided to accept the plea agreement and sentence in accordance with it," said Marshall.

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Daniel O'Brien said the fines were appropriate. "The fines to be paid are the largest in the history of the U.S.," he said. He noted that Riady is worth about $20 million and the fines represented about 45 percent of his net worth.

O'Brien said that Riady's lawyers indicated that the fines would be paid with personal, as opposed to corporate, funds, although he could not police where the money would come from. The fines would be paid in four installments, with the first being paid on Monday.

In addition to the fines, Riady was placed on probation for two years and must perform 400 hours of community service.

The judge said that while the community service was less than that given to others in the campaign finance scandal, his fines were larger.

Foreign campaign contributions are illegal in the U.S.

According to the government, the Lippo Group wanted to influence U.S. foreign policy to further its interests. It hoped to gain most favored nation status for China and open trade policies with Indonesia that would help the bank.

Riady is a member of the family that ran the Indonesia-based global conglomerate Lippo Group. Lippo Bank (source of the illegal campaign contributions) has since merged with another bank and no longer exists.

Riady was asked if understand that what he had done was wrong.

"I was not familiar with these rules and regulations," he said. "But I had a general sense that if you contributed, it should be your own money."

Riady's colleague, John Huang, had earlier pleaded guilty to similar campaign violations and has been cooperating with government.