The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) detained on Thursday, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Izedrik Emir Moeis after naming him a suspect in a year-old graft case.

The antigraft body summoned Emir, for questioning for the first time since the start of the investigation. After undergoing a five-hour questioning session Emir, chairman of the House of Representatives Commission XI on finance, exited the KPK'€™s headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta, wearing a KPK detainee jacket that could only fit half of his large body.

Senior PDI-P politicians declined to comment on his incarceration at the Guntur detention center in South Jakarta.

KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said that Emir, who also served as a member of the PDI-P central board, would be detained for the next 20 days.

'€œEmir was charged with Article 5, Article 11 and Article 12 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption,'€ Johan told a press briefing.

The KPK named Emir a suspect for allegedly receiving US$300,000 in bribes from energy infrastructure company PT Alstom Indonesia, a subsidiary of French-based conglomerate Alstom, related to the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Tarahan, Lampung, in 2004.

In addition to the cash, the firm was also reported to have entertained Emir in Paris, France, providing him with free accommodation and other amenities, including visits to adult entertainment spots.

Emir also allegedly spent the money he received from Alstom on a shopping spree in Paris. The bribe was allegedly part of Alstom'€™s kickbacks after it eventually won the project tender.

Yanuar P Wasesa, a lawyer appointed by the PDI-P to handle the case, has denied the allegations, saying that his client never received money from Alstom.

Yanuar, however, said that Emir once received $300,000 from his business partner, Pirooz Shanafi, a US citizen of Persian descent, whom he befriended back when they studied together at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

'€œThe money was meant for a business venture,'€ he told reporters.

Pirooz also introduced Emir to the executives from Alstom, Yanuar added. '€œAlstom made a presentation, saying that it can sell its products at a low price to the state-owned electricity company PT PLN,'€ he said.

Pirooz has abused his connection with Emir for his own personal gains, said Yanuar.

Commenting on Emir'€™s trip to Paris, Yanuar said that the meeting between Emir and representatives from the French company were not business-related.

'€œEmir was in Paris when he bumped into Pirooz. Then Pirooz invited him [to meet with people from the company]. Emir was in Paris because he was interested in learning about socialism,'€ Yanuar said.

Yanuar also lambasted the KPK for failing to summon Pirooz and Alstom executives for their connection to the case.

'€œLet'€™s be fair here, when will the KPK summon them?'€ he said.

Two Alstom executives, however, had been charged for allegedly bribing Emir to secure the contract of the Tarahan power plant.

Frederic Pierucci, an executive of Alstom, was charged in April this year, while another former Alstom executive, David Rothschild, pleaded guilty last November to charges emanating from the same case.

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