TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Mulyani turns up the heat on Tommy

A bold move by the finance minister in seizing Rp 1

Aditya Suharmoko (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, August 30, 2008

Share This Article

Change Size

Mulyani turns up the heat on Tommy

A bold move by the finance minister in seizing Rp 1.23 trillion (US$134 million) owned by a firm linked with Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra has dealt a major blow to the powerful youngest son of the late former president Soeharto.

The iron lady Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Friday the fund had been in the ministry's account since Aug. 28, transferred from state-controlled Bank Mandiri amid an ongoing legal battle.

"(The transfer) is an effort to help secure state assets," she said in a press conference.

Bank Mandiri president director Agus Martowardjojo said the transfer had already cleared.

The ministry is in dire need of extra funds to help plug a widening state budget deficit of Rp 94.5 trillion.

The Rp 1.23 trillion seized from Tommy will at least help reduce the state coffer burden, as it is estimated to be equivalent to the cost of building at least 1,800 primary schools across the country.

The case involving the fund started when Tommy's automotive company PT Timor Putra Nasional relinquished its assets to the now defunct Indonesian Banks Restructuring Agency (IBRA) in 1999 for guaranteeing its Rp 4.57 trillion debt to the state.

In April 2003, IBRA sold the assets to PT Vista Bella Pratama for just Rp 512 million.

The assets, however, excluded the Rp 1.23 trillion deposited by Timor, which failed to declare the fund part of the assets.

The fund had since become subject of a legal dispute between the government and Vista Bella, which was later identified by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as having an affiliation with Timor.

The Attorney General's Office (AGO), representing the Finance Ministry, filed a June civil lawsuit against Tommy on charges the sale of Timor to Bella Vista was illegal, as it was still under the same ownership.

"According to the (sales and purchases) agreement, if parties are affiliated with one another, the transaction must be canceled. The seizure of the Rp 1.23 trillion is just part of our effort to reduce losses from the transaction."

"Moreover, the deposit is not part of the assets sold to Vista Bella," said Mulyani, who was recently declared the world's 23rd most powerful woman by Forbes Magazine.

The ministry said the KPK and the AGO had conveyed their full support to the decision to seize the deposit.

Mulyani's action is part of a series of efforts by the government to recoup Tommy's allegedly ill-gotten money.

Timor is the most recent company of Tommy's to be investigated by the AGO in efforts to prevent him from withdrawing $46 million of allegedly illicit money from the Banque Nationale de Paris Paribas in Guernsey, Britain.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said last month the AGO would file another lawsuit against Tommy to ascertain whether the money now kept in another account belonging to his Motorbike Corporation had come from Timor.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.