Guernsey court’s pro-Tommy verdict humiliates govt, AGO

The AGO said on Thursday it would file a judicial review to Guernsey Supreme Court since its appeal to freeze 36 million euros (US$50 million) claimed by Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra had been rejected.

Assistant attorney general for state administrative affairs Edwin Pamimpin Situmorang told a press conference here Thursday that his side would firstly study the Supreme Court’s ruling favoring Tommy, the former president Soeharto’s youngest son, and seek new evidence for its request for review.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) will hold a meeting directly presided over by Attorney General Hendarman Supandji to discuss the case, including the deadline for filing the request for review.

Tommy and the government have been in a tug-of-war since Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas on Guernsey Island froze 36 million euros (around US$48 million) of funds belonging to Tommy’s Garnet Investment Co., with the bank suspecting that the money may have been sourced from corrupt practices in Indonesia.

Tommy recently sprang a surprise by announcing his quest for Golkar Party's chairman post.