Actress returns money for PKS events to KPK

Actress Khadijah Azhari, popularly known as Ayu Azhari, returned money she received from graft suspect Ahmad Fathanah, a close aid to former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday.

The money, US$1,800 and Rp 20 million, was paid by Ahmad to Ayu as a down payment for performances planned for PKS events, KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said on Friday at a press conference at the KPK headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Ayu, who arrived at the KPK accompanied by lawyer Fahmi Bachmid, said that she was only there to submit copies of her bank statements.

When asked whether she had received money from Ahmad, she vehemently denied it saying "I never accepted a single penny."

Ayu denied rumors that Fathanah had bought her an apartment.

"What apartment? The one where I live? I've lived there since 1997. It has nothing to do with Fathanah," she said.

Throughout the interview, she apparently gave statements that contradicted previous ones. When asked how Ahmad got her number, Ayu said that she gave it when she met him at Plaza Indonesia.

Previously, she said she met Ahmad first at Plaza Indonesia, only to later say that it was Plaza Senayan. She also said that she only met Ahmad once, while previously claiming she met him several times.