Tommy to meet AGO summons over BPPC corruption case

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 08/15/2007 1:18 PM

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hutomo ""Tommy"" Mandala Putra's lawyer, OC Kaligis, has confirmed with the Attorney General's Office (AGO) that Tommy will appear on Aug. 16 for questioning as a suspect in the misappropriation of Clove Marketing and Buffer Agency (BPPC) funds.

Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes Kemas Yahya Rahman said Tuesday that Tommy had given his assurance he would cooperate with the Attorney General's Office.

Kemas said he would not comment further on the case.

""Let's just wait,"" he said at the AGO.

Tommy's lawyer said, ""He will come -- he didn't come (to the first summons) because he was ill"".

Kaligis said last week Tommy had to see a doctor because of a severe headache.

The AGO has charged Tommy with misappropriating Rp 175 billion (US$18.7 million) of Bank Indonesia liquidity credits which were supposed to be channeled to clove farmers.

Tommy, who was the BPPC chairman when the credits were disbursed, allegedly used the money for his own purposes.

Kaligis said he would discuss the case with the financial and marketing directors of BPPC.

""The financial director (of BPPC) was the one who signed (the agreement) and the marketing director was the one who sold (the cloves),"" Kaligis said.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said Monday if Tommy failed to appear a second time, the AGO would send its own doctor to examine him.

""There should be a second opinion if he fails to recover,"" Hendarman said at the Constitutional Court.

He said his office would provide an escort for Tommy ""just in case he becomes ill while responding to the summons"".

Tommy, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, was granted a clove-trading monopoly as the chairman of BPPC during his father's authoritarian regime.

Farmers were required to sell cloves to BPPC at a low price, which the agency then sold to cigarette companies at a higher price.

It was disbanded in 1998 following an agreement between Soeharto and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to eliminate the clove-trading monopoly.

Lawmakers and observers said they expect the AGO to deal with the case seriously.

The BPPC case has seen Rp 1.7 trillion in losses to the state. (08)

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