Indonesian prosecutors filed a civil suit against former President Suharto yesterday, seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds allegedly misused by one of Suharto's charitable foundations.

Suharto, 86, who resigned under pressure following civil unrest in 1998 after 32 years in power, was previously charged with graft but escaped prosecution after he was deemed too ill to stand trial.

"Today we filed a civil suit against the Supersemar foundation, and we are suing the then head of the foundation, former President Suharto," Prosecutor Dachmer Munthe told reporters.