Asset Recovery Agency Auctions Gold Paintings and Pharaoh Chair Replica from Jimmy Sutopo

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Attorney General’s Office Asset Recovery Agency (BPA) is auctioning gold paintings and a replica of a Pharaoh’s chair seized from Jimmy Sutopo, a convict in the PT Asabri corruption case, as part of the BPA Fair.

‘As we know, Jimmy Sutopo, in addition to being sentenced to prison, has also been ordered to recover state losses,’ said the Head of the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office BPA, Kuntadi, at the BPA Building, East Jakarta, on Monday.

According to the auction catalogue, the gold paintings being auctioned are the work of South Korean artist Kim Il Tae. The paintings use pure 24-karat gold as the primary medium and are created using a unique technique involving carving with gold powder, natural oils, and special adhesives.

The price for Kim Il Tae’s gold paintings ranges from 800,000 USD to 1.2 million USD. These artworks are already part of the collections of several prominent figures, such as Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. One of the gold paintings featured in the BPA Fair is titled ‘Little Horse’, with a reserve price of IDR 760,702,000 and a security deposit of IDability IDR 152,140,000.

Meanwhile, the replica Pharaoh chair listed in the catalogue is described as ‘King Tutankhamen’s Egyptian Throne Chair’, a miniature of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s throne. The chair is gold-coloured and features carvings depicting the Tutankhamun kingdom.

Jimmy Sutopo was convicted in a corruption and money laundering case involving the management of finances and investment funds at PT Asabri (Persero), which caused state losses amounting to IDR 22.788 trillion. One of the methods used to launder the proceeds of corruption was the purchase of 36 gold paintings at an exhibition to disguise the origin of the wealth.