Indonesian chief justice arrested for bribery
Arrest of Akil Mochtar, chief justice of constitutional court, is latest in series of high-profile corruption cases.
Indonesia’s main anti-graft agency arrested the chief justice of the constitutional court for alleged bribery, an agency official said, the latest high-profile corruption case to hit Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Akil Mochtar, who was elected as chief justice for a five-year term in August, was arrested Wednesday by the Corruption Eradication Commission after investigators confiscated some 2-3 billion rupiah ($260,200) from his residence, according to agency spokesman Johan Budi.
Budi told Reuters the money was believed to be linked to a regional election.
A member of parliament and three people were also arrested, Budi said in a separate statement to OneTV.
Mochtar was detained less than two months after anti-graft officials arrested the chairman of Indonesia’s energy regulator on suspicion of accepting a bribe from an oil company official.
Chronic corruption remains a major brake on investment in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, and has tarnished President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s final year in office.