Supreme Court
Indonesia wins appeal against Tommy Suharto
Indonesia's Supreme Court has reversed a decision to return $1.23 trillion rupiah ($153.3 million) which had been seized from a company run by the youngest son of late military strongman Suharto, a judge said today.
The court overturned its own two-year-old ruling on the basis of new evidence presented by the finance ministry, justice Hatta Ali said.
"That is the final decision. There will be no more suits or appeals," he said.
The court ruled in 2008 that $1.23 trillion rupiah ($153.3 million) seized from Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra's now defunct car company should be returned.
The money had been confiscated amid investigations into massive corruption by Suharto and his cronies during the dictator's three-decade rule.
A notorious playboy with a taste for flashy cars, Tommy enjoyed privileged access to lucrative business deals before the Asian financial crisis triggered his father's downfall in 1998.
He served less than a third of a 15-year jail term for ordering the murder of a Supreme Court judge in 2002.
Suharto died of natural causes in January, 2008.
(Published by The Australian – July 16, 2010)