Heru Andriyanto & Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The controversy over a secret meeting between media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibjo and prosecutors has taken another turn, with a senior official saying that a prosecutor, not Hary, requested it.

Hary reportedly requested the June 15 meeting with Muhammad Amari, the deputy attorney general for special crimes, to discuss dropping embezzlement charges against Hary's brother Hartono in exchange for paying unspecified damages.

However, Marwan Effendy, the deputy attorney general for internal supervision, said on Thursday that the meeting was actually called by Amari.

"Amari was the one who came up with the idea of recovering the state losses incurred in Hartono's case, and he made the offer through Hartono's lawyer," Marwan said. "So it was entirely Amari's initiative."

Amari is Marwan's successor in the special crimes unit, which deals with corruption cases. "Hary has clarified to inspectors at the special crimes unit that he got the offer through his lawyer, Martin Pengrekun," Marwan added.

"Hartono was unlikely to join the meeting because of his legal status as a suspect in the case, so Hary came on his behalf."

Hartono may well have had a hard time making the meeting because he was questioned as a suspect on the same day. Amari earlier insisted that Hary had demanded the meeting.

Hartono's case centers around a Web site at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry that allowed companies to register for business permits.

Prosecutors say site operator PT Sarana Rekatama Dinamika, which was set up by Hartono, embezzled 90 percent of the revenue generated by the site, stealing Rp 410 billion ($45.3 million) in revenue between 2001 and 2006.

A Sarana executive and several ministry officials have already been convicted in the case, while Hartono and Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the justice minister at the time, have been charged.

The controversy over the meeting between Hary and Amari came about because it violated an AGO regulation banning prosecutors from meeting with case brokers or other parties attempting to influence the handling or outcome of an ongoing investigation.

That regulation went into effect in March 2008, following the arrest of prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan, who was caught taking a bribe from a businesswoman seeking to have charges against her partner dropped.

However, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji insisted on Wednesday that the meeting was called by Hary.

He also said that once informed about it by Amari, he had ordered Amari to seek Rp 1 trillion in damages from Hary, but declined to explain this discrepancy with the stated losses of Rp 410 billion.

Meanwhile, Marwan denounced claims by Romli Atmasasmita, a former director general at the ministry who was earlier this year convicted for his role in the Web site case, that the evidence against him was fabricated.

He said that Romli, who had his two-year sentence reduced to one by the Jakarta High Court, was trying to influence the Supreme Court's ongoing hearing of his appeal. Marwan also labelled Romli "the most active person" behind the establishment of the Web site.

"I call on the Supreme Court not to be swayed by the recent remarks made by a certain convict to the House of Representatives," Marwan said, referring to Romli.