THE Guernsey courts should no longer be involved in what was an Indonesian matter, it was claimed yesterday.

For Garnet Investments, Advocate Chris Edwards told the Guernsey Court of Appeal that an injunction on 37m. euros belonging to Hutomo Mandala Putra [known as Tommy Suharto] (pictured) being held in a Guernsey bank should be lifted.

Mr Putra is the son of former Indonesian president General Suharto and was once famous for his lavish lifestyle.

‘It’s an Indonesian problem that should be dealt with in Indonesia under Indonesian law,’ Advocate Edwards said.

The Indonesian government had had the benefit of the freezing order for two years and the time had come for it to be discharged, he said, adding that the Indonesian government had been remarkably unsuccessful in dealing with any claims that had been made against his client.

Mr Putra lives in Indonesia, where he has considerable assets, said Advocate Edwards, and had made no attempt to conceal them. Those in Guernsey were only a ‘small part’ of his wealth.