Jakarta - An Indonesian court on Monday opened a civil lawsuit against the youngest son of former dictator Suharto to recover state losses linked to a multi-million-dollar land exchange scam in mid-1990s. Prosecutors from the Attorney-General's Office allege businessman Hutomo Mandala Putra, better known as Tommy Suharto, traded low-value swampland to the country's national logistics agency, Bulog, in return for prime real estate for a commercial development.
The suit also targets PT Goro Batara Sakti (PT GBS) a supermarket chain in which Tommy Suharto was a commissioner, as well as the company's president and a former Bulog chairman.
Prosecutor Yoseph Suardi Sabda told the South Jakarta District Court that the defendants caused the state to suffer 500 billion rupiah (55 million dollars) in losses because irregularities had been found in the land exchange scheme. The case is seen as a test of whether the government can recover assets pilfered during former dictator Suharto's corruption-ridden regime.
The court case went forward after the sides failed to reach an out-of-court settlement. Indonesian law requires that parties mediate to resolve civil disputes before courts may proceed with a case.
The 44-year-old former race car enthusiast, who had a reputation as a trouble-making playboy, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2000 in connection with the 1995 land swap, in which GBS acquired prime real estate owned by Bulog in return for useless swamp land in northern Jakarta while his father Suharto was still in office.
Tommy Suharto went into hiding for more than a year after the verdict, during which he paid two hit men to kill the Supreme Court justice who had convicted him. He was eventually captured, tried and convicted in 2002 for the murder, but was released from prison in October 2006 for good behaviour after serving less than one-third of his original 15-year sentence.
While he was in hiding, the Supreme Court inexplicably overturned his conviction in the land scam case and threw out the fine, which prompted the current civil suit to recover the state's losses.
In response to the lawsuit, one of Tommy Suharto's lawyer, Elza Syarief, argued that the case lacked foundation because of the Supreme Court's ruling five years ago that he was not guilty, the state-run Antara news agency reported.
The civil suit is part of a deal made by the Indonesian government with a court in Guernsey, Britain, which has frozen millions of euros in a bank account there belonging to Tommy Suharto. He is currently appealing a court order issued in May to extend the freeze.
Despite being out of power, the Suharto family, which includes five other adult children, remains wealthy and has deep political connections. Prosecutors have been forced to file civil lawsuits to collect money because, as one analyst put it, "the Suhartos are paying to stay out of prison."
Tommy Suharto is the only member of the family who has been found guilty and jailed for any offence, even though his family is accused of accumulating as much as 35 billion dollars during his father's regime.
The 86-year-old former president, who resigned in disgrace in 1998 amid pro-democracy street demonstrations, faced numerous allegations of human rights abuses and corruption during his rule, but in May 2006 prosecutors closed a criminal case against him, citing his deteriorating health.
