Jakarta – A man at the center of a bribery claim involving ex-Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid and the son of former dictator Suharto has spent part of the money on gold and his house, media reported Saturday.

Dodi Sumadi, who was arrested by police in Jakarta this week, admitted during questioning that he met Tommy Suharto in October 2000 when Tommy was seeking a presidential pardon from Wahid for a graft conviction, the Republika newspaper said.

Sumadi's lawyer, Firma Wijaya, was quoted by the newspaper as saying his client received five billion rupiah (500,000 dollars) when he and a second man, Abdullah Siddiq Muin, met Tommy at a Jakarta hotel. Muin called himself an "envoy" of Wahid's, Wijaya said. Sumadi then gave some of the money to a friend named Talib Abdullah and used the rest to buy gold and renovate his home, his lawyer said.

Tommy's lawyer, Elza Syarief, has said her client handed over 20 billion rupiah to Sumadi and Muin in his effort to secure presidential clemency from Wahid for the conviction, which carried an 18-month jail sentence.

Wahid, who turned down the plea for clemency, has admitted meeting Tommy shortly after his conviction, but has repeatedly denied receiving any money from the former millionaire playboy.

Wahid, his wife and eldest daughter, who have already been questioned by police over the bribery claim, have denied ever knowing Sumadi. Sumadi however said Friday that he had known Wahid "quite closely" since Wahid on Saturday dismissed Sumadi's claim of knowing him as a lie, Satunet online news reported. "He's lying. Perhaps he just knew me from the media," Wahid was quoted as saying.

Tommy went on the run in November 2000 after failing to secure a pardon. Police have accused him of ordering the drive-by assassination eight months later of the Supreme Court judge who sentenced him. Four months after the assassination, while Tommy was still on the run, another Supreme Court panel acquitted him of the graft charge.

Police finally caught Tommy in November and have detained him on suspicion of possessing weapons and explosives following the discovery of arms caches in a Jakarta house and apartment where he stayed during his months as a fugitive. Police said they were also questioning Tommy over a series of bombings in Jakarta last year.