INDONESIA: Former Indonesian President Suharto' son, Tommy questioned in graft case

Former Indonesian leader Suharto' son, Tommy arrives in the Attorney General's office for questioning over a graft case involving a clove monopoly agency. The youngest son of former Indonesian President Suharto was summoned bythe Attorney General Office for the second time after he did not show up for questioning last week over an 18.8 million U.S. dollar (USD) graft case. Tommy, the youngest son of the former autocratic leader was recently named a suspect in the case related to alleged misuse of state funds given to a lucrative clove monopoly agency he chaired in the 1990s. The agency, known as BPPC, was set up by then-president Suharto to protect clove farmers from fluctuating prices. Tommy, who has had several brushes with the law, was mobbed by dozens of journalists as he arrived at the attorney general's office building, but appeared relaxed. He said the BPPC's debt amounting to 59 million USD to the central bank was paid by a state-owned bank in 1993. "It's already been settled by Bank Bumi Daya in September 1993 and there is proof from an Indonesian Bank letter which clarifies the settlement that the credit was paid," Tommy said while showing the central bank letter. "All has been done in July 1995-- there is no outstanding and non-performing loan from BPPC members to Bank Bumi Daya or other state banks," added Tommy. Last month, prosecutors filed a civil suit against Suharto senior seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds allegedly misused by one of the former president's charitable foundations. The former president, who resigned in 1998 amid civil unrest, was himself charged with graft but escaped prosecution after he was deemed too ill to stand trial. Both he and his family members deny any wrongdoing. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono came to power in 2004 promising to tackle endemic graft, and officials ranging from a former religious affairs minister to the governor of Aceh province have been jailed on corruption charges. But the anti-graft drive is being closely watched after critics say it has failed to take on some powerful vested interests. Cases against the Suharto family have often failed to make ground, prompting accusations that Indonesia's legal system can be bent in favour of the rich and powerful. Tommy, 44, was conditionally released from jail last October, after serving a third of his original sentence for plotting the murder of a Supreme Court judge who had convicted him in another graft case. Like other Suharto children, Tommy became a super-rich business mogul during his father's three-decade rule. Some of his projects have been linked to political influence and corruption, including the clove monopoly and a failed national car project.

ITN Source | August 16, 2007

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