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Brother of Indonesia’s Prabowo faces Swiss court order on account seizure over taxes

Authorities in Geneva say Hashim Djojohadikusumo and his wife Anie owed US$154 million in unpaid taxes when they lived in Switzerland

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Arsari Group Chairman and CEO Hashim Djojohadikusumo, at Conrad Hotel in Admiralty. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Switzerland’s federal Supreme Court has approved the seizure of bank accounts linked to the family of Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto’s tycoon brother as a long-running tax saga casts a shadow over the incoming leader who is set to take office later this month.
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Authorities in Geneva have pursued Hashim Djojohadikusumo and his wife Anie to recover US$154 million in unpaid taxes when they lived in the Alpine nation’s second-largest city for more than seven years from the late 1990s.

The court recently ruled that the accounts, containing about US$500,000, can be confiscated to recoup the dues that the couple said piled up because they were bankrupt after spending their fortune rescuing Prabowo’s cash-strapped businesses ranging from mining to palm oil plantations and funding his election campaign.

The couple also argued they were divorced, an explanation rejected by the court, which viewed it as an attempt to avoid tax obligations.

The tax recovery proceedings come as Prabowo, who succeeds outgoing President Joko Widodo, prepares to lead the country on October 20.
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The former military general is likely to finalise the Cabinet, expected to feature more than 40 ministries, five days before his inauguration.

Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto at the parliament building in Jakarta in August. Photo: Reuters
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto at the parliament building in Jakarta in August. Photo: Reuters
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