"I was given the opportunity by State Secretary Minister Pratikno to submit my resignation as Agriculture Minister," Limpo informed at the Presidential Palace Complex on Thursday.
Accompanied by Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, he met with Minister Pratikno at 5:20 p.m. local time after entering the south gate of the Presidential Palace Complex.
Limpo, who is from the NasDem Party, arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday evening after reports that contact with him had been lost amid an investigation into alleged corruption at his office.
The minister had left for Italy on September 24, 2023, for a working visit, from where he had proceeded to Spain. He was originally scheduled to return to Indonesia on September 30, but separated from his entourage and could not be reached until October 2.
On September 29, KPK investigators announced that they had raised the status of the alleged corruption case at the Ministry of Agriculture to an investigation.
Head of the KPK publication department, Ali Fikri, informed that his party had named a number of suspects in the case. However, the commission has not announced their names since the investigation and evidence collection process is still on.
On September 28, the KPK also searched Limpo's official residence in the Widya Chandra Complex in South Jakarta and found evidence in the form of cash worth billions of rupiah.
During the search, KPK investigators also seized 12 firearms, which were handed over to the Jakarta Metropolitan Office (Polda Metro Jaya) for further investigation.
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Translator: Indra Arief P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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