Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 12/31/2008 10:50 AM | Headlines
The Attorney General's Office on Tuesday quizzed Bengkulu Governor Agusrin Maryono Najamuddin as a suspect in a Rp 21.3 billion (US$1.7 million) corruption case.
Assistant attorney general for special crimes Marwan Effendy said Agusrin was charged with misusing Rp 6 billion from the province's 2006 tax revenue.
"We're going on the fact he used the allegedly stolen money. Our initial investigation shows he spent the money in an investment," he said.
"(Agusrin) should have transferred the revenue to the Bengkulu coffers, but instead he deposited it in a temporary bank account for his own personal use."
However, Marwan said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had not consented to the AGO's immediate detention of the governor.
"The President only allowed us to question him, not detain him," Marwan said.
In August, the AGO named Agusrin a suspect in the case, but subsequently failed to summon him because of a months-long wait for presidential approval to question the governor.
The AGO is legally obliged to obtain presidential permission to arrest or summon a governor, regent or legislator in a criminal investigation.
The Attorney General's Office on Tuesday quizzed Bengkulu Governor Agusrin Maryono Najamuddin as a suspect in a Rp 21.3 billion (US$1.7 million) corruption case.
Assistant attorney general for special crimes Marwan Effendy said Agusrin was charged with misusing Rp 6 billion from the province's 2006 tax revenue.
"We're going on the fact he used the allegedly stolen money. Our initial investigation shows he spent the money in an investment," he said.
"(Agusrin) should have transferred the revenue to the Bengkulu coffers, but instead he deposited it in a temporary bank account for his own personal use."
However, Marwan said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had not consented to the AGO's immediate detention of the governor.
"The President only allowed us to question him, not detain him," Marwan said.
In August, the AGO named Agusrin a suspect in the case, but subsequently failed to summon him because of a months-long wait for presidential approval to question the governor.
The AGO is legally obliged to obtain presidential permission to arrest or summon a governor, regent or legislator in a criminal investigation.