T

he foundation of former president Soeharto, Yayasan Supersemar, has filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO) for what it deems an illegal move to freeze the foundation'€™s bank accounts.

The AGO moved to block the foundation'€™s bank accounts following the Supreme Court'€™s ruling to order the foundation to pay a Rp 4.4 trillion (US$316 million) fine for misusing scholarship funds.

Denny Kailimang, the foundation'€™s lawyer, said that his client had filed the suit with the South Jakarta District Court in early December last year and a hearing has been scheduled for next Thursday.

'€œWe have filed a lawsuit because the President only gives the AGO the authority to implement the Supreme Court'€™s decision via the South Jakarta District Court. It does not give them the authority to freeze bank accounts,'€ he told The Jakarta Post.

'€œThe Attorney General does not have any such authority and thus they are violating the law.'€

Denny argued that due to the unwarranted account blockages, the Supersemar Foundation has not been able to pay their employees'€™ salaries or to distribute the scholarships it had promised to students.

'€œI hope that the lawsuit results in the President reprimanding the Attorney General for abusing his authority and that the President will remind him that any court decision must be implemented through the courts. I also hope that the AGO will lift its decision to freeze the accounts as it has no legal basis,'€
he said.

The case dates back to 2008 when the AGO filed a lawsuit at the South Jakarta District Court accusing the Soeharto family and the foundation of misusing scholarship funds by diverting them to their own companies.

The South Jakarta District Court found the foundation guilty and ordered it to pay a penalty.

The Supreme Court upheld the decision in 2010 and demanded that it pay $315 million and Rp 139.2 billion, which together equal Rp 4.4 trillion under the present valuation.

However, an earlier decision by the lower court contained a typographical error, stating that the rupiah portion of the ordered payment should be only Rp 139.2 million, instead of Rp 139.2 billion.

Denny said that the fine could not be justified given that the foundation only controlled assets worth only of Rp 309 billion based on an audit conducted by the AGO in 1998.

'€œThe financial audit on seven foundations, including the Supersemar Foundation, published in October 1998, shows that our assets in state-owned banks from 1978 to 1998 was only Rp 309 billion, and it was not in dollars. So where did they get the numbers from?'€ he said.

On Wednesday, the foundation missed a second summons by the South Jakarta District Court for a hearing to prepare for the fine payment.

Court spokesman Made Sutisna said that if the foundation does not appear before court on the next scheduled hearing on Jan. 20, then the court will authorize a forced confiscation of its assets.

However, Denny gave assurance that he would attend the hearing on Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, AGO spokesman Amir Yanto said that the prosecutors were prepared to defend themselves against the Supersemar Foundation'€™s lawsuit.

'€œWe will face this counter lawsuit. The execution [of the fines] will continue while we are dealing with this lawsuit,'€ he said.