MARCH 8, 2002

F1 promoter from Indonesia on murder charges!

TOMMY SUHARTO, the man who was behind the plan to hold a Grand Prix in Indonesia a few years ago, has been charged with masterminding the murder of Supreme Court judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita in July 20001. The judge had previously sentenced Suharto to 18-months in jail in a corruption trial.

Suharto, the son of the former Indonesian president, raced in the 1990s under the name Hutomo MP and went on to become the head of the Indonesia national sporting authority and was behind the construction of the Sentul racing circuit near Jakarta.

The Suharto Family was swept from power in Indonesia in 1998 and Suharto has been under investigation or on the run ever since. Opponents claim that the family took as much as $45bn from the country by illegal means, mainly using political influence to build financial empires.