Soeharto Case Begins in Indonesia

By Barrie | August 9th, 2007 | No Comments

Indonesian judges began hearing a civil lawsuit on Thursday against former dictator Suharto, who is alleged to have stolen billions of dollars from the state during his 32-year rule.

The court was in session for just 20 minutes before judges ordered state prosecutors and lawyers for Suharto to try to reach a settlement among themselves as Associated Press reports.

Indonesian law requires good-faith effort at settlement before proceeding in civil cases. The court gave the parties one month to reach a deal before moving ahead with the case.

The lawsuit follows an unsuccessful attempt in 2000 to launch criminal proceedings against Suharto over the alleged corruption. Suharto’s lawyers at that time prevailed, arguing the 86-year-old was too sick to stand trial.

Missing funds

The current suit seeks $1.54 billion in damages and missing funds.

It alleges money was channeled from the Indonesian Central Bank through state-owned banks to a Suharto-headed fund called Yayasan Supersemar.

The fund was said to finance education scholarships, but the money was never accounted for.

Suharto’s lawyer Mohamed Assegaf has repeatedly denied Suharto was corrupt.

He declined to comment on the details of the suit on Thursday, saying only that he intended to argue it had been filed illegally. He gave no details.

Local and international anti-graft groups have alleged that Suharto and his family siphoned off billions of dollars in state.