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udjiono Timan ' a graft fugitive who was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2004 ' was cleared of all charges by the Supreme Court, which unexpectedly granted his request for a case review.

The latest ruling annulled the one issued in 2004, which ordered Sudjiono to pay Rp 369 billion in restitution to the state. The panel of judges at the time, led by former chief justice Bagir Manan, found the former president director of state-owned company PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia (BPUI) guilty of disbursing billions of rupiah to companies that were unqualified to receive the funds.

Among the recipients of the funds were Kredit Asia Finance Limited, owned by business magnate Hashim Djojohadikusumo, and Festival Company Inc., owned by Agus Anwar. Both Hashim and Agus are Timan's close friends. Agus is now a fugitive.

Timan also approved the disbursement of Rp 263 billion of BPUI investment funds to both companies and Virgin Islands-based PT Penta Investment Ltd.

Justice Suhadi, who presided over the 2013 case review, confirmed on Thursday that the panel handed down the ruling on July 31. The request for the case review was filed by Timan's wife, he added.

During his trial, Sudjiono was represented by Amir Syamsuddin, who is now Law and Human Rights minister. Amir, however, said in 2011 that he was no longer Sudjiono's lawyer.

In its consideration, Suhadi said, the panel, consisting of justices Andi Samsan Nganro, Sophian Marthabaya and two other ad hoc judges, said Timan's case was a civil case and what he did could not be seen as a crime.

'The state losses referred to the lower court's ruling, but the lower court decided to acquit him as they found it was actually a civil case,' Suhadi said. 'In addition, the losses, as well as the amount of money Sudjiono spent, were not calculated precisely.'

According to Suhadi, the panel found Sudjiono had used the money in accordance with his authority as a company leader.

'The money was loans. He lent money to the companies in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997. As a result of the financial crisis in 1998, it was difficult to get the money back,' he said. 'So, there were indeed state losses, but it was actually a civil case.'

The South Jakarta District Court ruled in 2002 that Timan did not breach any regulation despite the state losses

The court argued that he had not received warnings from Ali Wardhana, finance minister at the time, and his annual reports had been accepted at the shareholders' general meeting.

Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) questioned the Supreme Court's commitment to eradicating corruption. He was referring to a memo issued in 2012 by the court that said it would reject a case review if the convict did not attend the case review hearing.

This, he said, would set a bad precedent in the war on graft.

'Many corruptors will follow Sudjiono: flee the country before they get their verdict and seek a case review in absentia,' he said.