"The final deal will be made in a memorandum of understanding. However, everything will depend on the result of our presentation," Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said in Jakarta on Friday.

"If the KPK still wants to go ahead (and reopen the case), then the AGO will hand it over."

Hendarman said the KPK must follow formal procedures in inheriting the case, including obtaining permission from the AGO.

"Taking over this case is like visiting a person's house. If (KPK chairman) Antasari (Azhar) wants to enter my house (the AGO) he should greet me formally and follow procedures," he said.

He dismissed an accusation that the AGO was purposefully obstructing efforts to reopen the case. He said the procedures were necessary steps to ensuring transparency in the case.

"I'm aware the KPK is still clueless about this case. The presentation will enlighten the KPK and ensure they understand the reason we decided to close this case," Hendarman said.

Citing a lack of evidence, the AGO on Feb. 29, 2008, issued a letter of order to halt the case, which implicates fugitive tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim.

Two days later, the KPK arrested state prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan after catching him receiving a US$660,000 bribe from businesswoman Artalyta Suryani as repayment for dropping the embezzlement case.

The AGO has since come under public pressure to reopen the case.

"We want to underline that the AGO investigated whether we should proceed with the BLBI case probe. But we didn't find new evidence during the investigation, so we didn't reopen the case," Hendarman said.

He said the AGO had wanted to present its reasons to the KPK a few months ago, but the plan had been delayed.

Assistant attorney general for special crimes Marwan Effendi previously said the AGO was awaiting the final verdict from the Jakarta High Court in its legal battle with the Indonesian People for Indonesian Anti-Corruption (MAKI).

The high court overruled an earlier verdict by the South Jakarta District Court, which ruled in favor of the MAKI, and ordered the AGO to reopen the case.

Sjamsul, former owner of now-defunct Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, has been accused of embezzling Rp 28.4 trillion (US$3.04 billion) in BLBI funds.

The AGO began investigating Sjamsul after discovering that the value of his assets that he had handed over to the state to cover debts had plummeted after the government had sold the assets to other parties.

Sjamsul, who also owns Gajah Tunggal Group, handed over three of his companies to repay the Rp 28.4 trillion to the government, but the companies were later sold for Rp 4.9 trillion.

Popular

Indonesian hotel chain confirms exit from Cuba

Corruption scandals, rupiah fall revive reshuffle talks

Waiting is not an option