Habibie questioned in Germany

Habibie questioned in Germany

JAKARTA: Two prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office left for Germany on Friday to question former president B.J. Habibie over the alleged misuse of Rp 40 billion (US$4 million) in funds from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), a report said.

"Prosecutors Manaf Zubaidi and Ahmad Santoso left for Germany today (Friday) to question Pak Habibie in an attempt to accelerate the investigation into the scandal," Spokesman of the Attorney General's Office, Moeljohardjo, said as quoted by El- Shinta radio station.

Meanwhile, two of Habibie's lawyers Yan Juanda Saputra and O.C. Kaligis will also fly to Hamburg on Saturday.

Previously, Habibie had failed to meet two summonses issued by the Attorney General's Office as he was in Germany with his wife who is undergoing treatment at a German hospital.

The scandal has drawn considerable interest following revelations by former Bulog chairman Rahardi Ramelan, a suspect in the case.

Rahardi told government investigators in October that Rp 40 billion of the Rp 54.6 billion Bulog funds had been channeled to Akbar Tandjung, then the state secretary.

Akbar, who is also Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Golkar chairman, has maintained his innocence, saying that he only witnessed the hand over of checks worth Rp 40 billion from Bulog's deputy chairman for finance Ahmad Ruskandar to Raudlatul Jannah Islamic Foundation chairman Dadang Ruskandar.