Camelia Pasandaran – Convicted businesswoman Artalyta Suryani will walk free from Tangerang prison in two weeks, after serving just half of a five-year sentence for graft.

Artalyta was sentenced to five years in jail in July 2008 for bribing a public prosecutor to drop a high-profile embezzlement case.

Artalyta, who is also known as Ayin, was found to have paid $660,000 cash to prosecutor Urip Gunawan in return for halting an investigation into businessman Sjamsul Nursalim.

Urip led the investigation into the alleged misuse of $3 billion of Bank Indonesia bailout funds by Sjamsul's bank, PT Bank Dagang Negara Indonesia, at the time of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Artalyta, who spent part of her incarceration in a scandalously lavish prison cell, is believed to have received remissions of three months and 10 days in total.

These remissions came on top of a six-month reduction in her sentence, granted by the Supreme Court in April 2010. The Supreme Court initially rejected her appeal against her sentence in February 2009. However, after conducting a case review, it eventually ruled to reduce her sentence.

Even accounting for these concessions, Artalyta has served two and a half years in prison.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar has insisted, however, that she has served her time, and that she did not receive any additional cuts.

"She did not receive a remission on Independence Day last year," Patrialis said. "The Correctional Facilities Directorate [of the ministry] delayed providing her with any further remissions."

Reports had suggested the chief of the Tangerang Penitentiary had proposed providing her with additional remissions for good behavior, but his request was rejected.

"She is being released because she has served her time," Patrialis said. "If she received any further remissions she would have been out of prison by now."