T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) decided not to arrest Andi Zulkarnaen '€œChoel'€ Mallarangeng, the younger brother of former youth and sports minister Andi Alfian Mallarangeng, on Friday after naming him a suspect in the high-profile graft case centering on the construction of the Hambalang sports complex.

KPK spokeswoman Yuyuk Andriyati said on Friday that it was not urgent to detain Choel and that investigators needed to question more witnesses before going further.

'€œThe investigators still need to question the suspect and several other witnesses before moving to detain him,'€ Yuyuk told reporters on Friday.

The antigraft body named Choel a graft suspect on Dec. 21 last year, accusing him of abusing his authority for personal or corporate gain in the infrastructure procurement for the sport complex in 2010 to 2012. The KPK has also imposed a travel ban on him, valid for six months.

Choel showed up at the KPK headquarters on Friday morning for a questioning, carrying a medium-sized bag, which he claimed to contain several shirts.

'€œI'€™m carrying this bag to show that I'€™m ready for detention,'€ he said, promising that he would cooperate with the KPK investigators during the questioning.

During the seven-hour interrogation, Choel said KPK investigators asked him about the US$550,000 he received in the bribery scheme. '€œThey actually asked me many times about that and I have admitted [about the bribery],'€ he said.

He said, however, that he had yet to receive any official document regarding the KPK'€™s decision to name him a suspect in the case.

Choel took a swipe at the KPK for taking four years to name him a suspect in the case.

'€œI'€™m quite surprised that they worked very slow in naming me a suspect as the case started four years ago, but it'€™s fine,'€ Choel said.

His brother Andi was found guilty of bribery in the Hambalang case. In 2014, he was sentenced to four years in prison and fined Rp 200 million for involvement in the same case, making him the first active minister to be charged with graft.

Under Andi'€™s tenure, the Hambalang Sports Complex project was transformed from a modest single-year project worth Rp 125 billion into a multiyear project worth Rp 1.17 trillion.

During Andi'€™s trial on May 19, 2014, Choel admitted that he had accepted $550,000 from Deddy Kusdinar, the chief of the financial and internal affairs bureau of the Youth and Sports Ministry, who was also found guilty in the case.

He also admitted receiving Rp 2 billion from Herman Prananto, president director of PT Global Daya Manunggal, one of the companies subcontracted by state-owned construction firm PT Adhi Karya for the Hambalang project.

Choel later claimed, however, that he had handed over all the money he received to the KPK. He also expressed remorse for his actions, saying that it was his fault that his brother had become a defendant in the case.

Former KPK leaders signed a sprindik (letter ordering the start of an investigation) on Choel on Dec. 16. Prosecutors intend to charge Choel with violating Article 2(1) or Article 3 of Law No. 31/1999 in reference to Law No. 21/2001 on corruption eradication and Article 55(1) of the Criminal Code.