Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) said it has made significant progress in its attempt to build an overseas corruption case against the youngest son of former president Soeharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh said the AGO had gained access to the names of companies affiliated with Motorbike, an overseas company belonging to Tommy.

The AGO has been working on a case to prove that US$10 million of Tommy's money previously held in a London account of Bank Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas, which was returned back to him via a Justice and Human Rights Ministry account, was the proceeds of corruption.

Despite bank allegations the money was dirty, the US$10 million held in the BNP Paribas account was delivered to the justice ministry, which then transferred the money to Motorbike.

Abdul Rahman said Thursday his office had received an analytical report from the Financial Transaction and Report Analysis Center (PPATK) revealing the names of companies linked to Motorbike. He said the new information boosted the AGO's case that the US$10 million was the result of graft.

"We have the names of those companies affiliated (with Motorbike). They belong to the same group," he told reporters here.

However, Abdul Rahman declined to reveal the names of the companies, saying they would be inserted as evidence at an April 26, 2007 hearing of another corruption case against Tommy, which is being tried at a British Royal Court in Guernsey, a British crown dependency off the northern French coast.

The second case centers on a lawsuit by Garnet Investment Ltd., another overseas-based company belonging to Tommy, over the BNP Paribas Guernsey branch's refusal to release 36 million euros of Tommy's money. The bank alleges the money was laundered.

"The PPATK's report is confidential... I cannot uncover it for you," Abdul Rahman said. The attorney general also refused to say if there was a connection between Motorbike and Garnet. "I cannot say such a thing... I may be charged with violating the law," he said.

The BNP Paribas London case has also implicated current State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who was the justice minister when the transfer occurred, and the incumbent justice minister Hamid Awaluddin.

Yusril had said he knew about the transfer of the money, but denied he authorized it. The money was transferred when Hamid was already the justice minister, Yusril said.

Chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) Anwar Nasution said Thursday that both Yusril and Hamid should be held responsible for allowing the transfer of the $10 million of Tommy's money to the justice ministry's account.

"Ethically, morally and legally, the transfer of a company's money to an account of a government institution is wrong," Anwar said.