Indonesian house speaker suspected of graft case

Indonesian corruption eradication commission (KPK) on Monday declared House speaker Setya Novanto a suspect in graft case, chairman of KPK Agus Rahardjo said.

Novanto, who is also chairman of the Golkar party, was allegedly involved in the electronic identity card (e-ID) corruption case which leads to financial loss of 2.3 trillion rupiah (some 172.8 million U.S. dollars) of the state, the chairman said.

"KPK names SN as the new suspect in the case," Rahardjo announced at the KPK headquarters, referring to Setya Novanto.

He said Novanto had key roles in planning a scheme in the project which gives room for corrupting the funds.

Novanto's Golkar Party posted the second position at the 2014's legislative polls.

Two senior officials at the home affairs ministry and two lawmakers have been previously declared suspects in the case.

Indonesia has been striving to fight rampant corruption which has been one of bottlenecks in attracting foreign investment and accelerating development in the vast archipelagic nation.