Indonesia names Islamic party chief as graft suspect in contract-lobbying case

JAKARTA (AFP) - An anti-graft agency is investigating suspected corruption by the head of Indonesia's largest Islamic-based party, part of the coalition government.

The Corruption Eradication Commission took the chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party, Mr Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, in for questioning late on Wednesday as he was attending a meeting, said Mr Ishaaq's lawyer Zainudin Paru.

"He's still being questioned," Mr Paru told AFP, saying that under the law the commission would have to wait until Friday to decide whether to formally detain Mr Ishaaq.

The commission said Mr Ishaaq was suspected of accepting bribes from meat importer Indoguna Utama to secure a government contract. Its spokesman Johan Budi said investigators confiscated one billion rupiah (S$130,000) in cash from a car belonging to his aide.