JAKARTA, Nov 1: Former Indonesia’s dictator Suharto will give to the poor money he has been awarded in a lawsuit against US-based Time magazine if an appeal by its publisher fails, his lawyer said on Thursday.
The Indonesian Supreme Court in September awarded the former president $106 million in a defamation suit he brought against Time for alleging that he corruptly amassed his wealth and squirreled it away abroad.
Time has vowed to fight the decision and petition the Supreme Court to review its ruling, its only remaining legal avenue for appeal. The case could still take years to be resolved.
“In the lawsuit document, we include a statement from Suharto (saying) that if we win, the proceeds will be donated to the poor,” Suharto’s lawyer Muhammad Assegaf said.
Suharto told Gatra news magazine in an edition that hit newsstands last week that the money, after he pays taxes of 35 per cent, “is to help poor people”. The interview took place at Suharto’s home and was published as a transcription.
The 86-year-old president stumbled as he tried to answer and questions were repeated so he could answer properly.
Suharto also told the magazine that he had not kept any money in Switzerland, one of the locations he has been accused of hiding cash in.
“It’s not true. If there are any (funds), let them be given to the people. But in fact there are none,” he said.
A criminal trial against Suharto was abandoned on health grounds last year, while a civil suit brought by the government currently being heard by the courts is seeking $1.4 billion in returned assets and damages.—AFP
