Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The sudden return of 32.5 billion rupiah (S$5.8 million) in missing funds by an associate of detained parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tandjung is being seen here as an attempt to help the powerful politician escape prosecution.

On Saturday, the Attorney-General's Office (AGO) announced that Mr Winfried Simatupang, allegedly appointed by Mr Akbar to distribute 40 billion rupiah in funds from the state food agency Bulog in 1999, had returned most of the missing amount to the government.

"The total money returned is around 32.5 billion rupiah. He has returned it since last week in installments and he has promised to give back the whole amount by the end of this month," said an AGO spokesman.

The timing of the return of the funds has sparked intense speculation here. It occurred just two days after Mr Akbar had been detained by the authorities.

Mr Akbar, then State Secretary under former president Habibie, is being charged for allegedly misusing the 40 billion rupiah. But the return of the bulk of the funds could well serve to undercut the government's case against him.

Lawyers and political observers told The Straits Times yesterday that the return of the 32.5 billion rupiah was meant to ease negotiation for Mr Akbar's release prior to a court case or, at the very least, to ensure a "lighter" prosecution. "This is one step to negotiate his release," said lawyer Hendardi, adding that several technical reasons could be used to stop the case.

But legal observers believe Mr Winfried's move provides insufficient grounds for the AGO to drop the case. "The money being returned does not have a connection with a criminal action, this is still a criminal case – but it could influence the judges' decision to lighten the sentence," said Mr Hendardi.

Lawyers also said Mr Akbar's repeated denials that he had misused Bulog funds remained "unconvincing". The Golkar leader recently "recalled", for example, that he had directed the Bulog funds to the non-government agency Raudatul Jannah, which is headed by Mr Winfried. But Raudatul Jannah has been unable to prove it distributed any of the money to poor people. A former leader of the foundation has also told Tempo magazine that Raudatul Jannah was set up only to launder Golkar money.

Political observers conceded that the return of the money allows for some political deal-making but said Mr Akbar's political career was likely to have been badly hurt. One said there were already moves within Golkar to replace him with an executive team.