AGO defends halt of embassy graft probe

SURABAYA: The Attorney General's Office (AGO) defended Tuesday its widely disputed decision to halt its investigation of a Rp 2.4 billion (about US$2.6 million) corruption case at the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok on the grounds that no state funds were lost.

"There has been no external intervention," Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said in Surabaya.

"We decided to halt the probe based on material evidence."

The termination of the graft investigation has sparked protest from anticorruption activists. Indonesia Corruption Watch has alleged that prosecutors may have been unable to resist "external pressure".

The AGO investigated the alleged corruption following a finding by the State Audit Agency (BPKP) in 2008. The audit report showed the embassy misused Rp 2.4 billion of the Rp 2.5 billion budget surplus in 2008.

Prosecutors have named three diplomats as suspects: former ambassador Muhammad Hatta, deputy ambassador Djumantoro Purbo and treasurer Suhaeni. - JP