"After conducting an intensive investigation, we declared him a suspect today," Busyro said here Thursday.
Nazaruddin was accused of having accepted bribe money in a project from the government to build an athletes` dormitory for the upcoming SEA Games event in Palembang, South Sumatra.
On May 23, or a day before KPK requested a ban for him to travel overseas, Nazaruddin left for Singapore saying that he was sick and needed to get medical treatment in the neighboring country.
Busyro said up till now KPK, was still trying to repatriate Nazaruddin from Singapore. He expressed hope that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would help by lobbying the Singapore government to facilitate Nazaruddin`s repatriation.
Last June 19, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the anti-graft body might resort to forceful means to bring Nazaruddin home from Singapore if he failed to meet a third summons to testify in a bribery case at the Youth and Sports Ministry.
"When a case we are handling has reached an advanced investigation stage, a witness can be summoned with forceful means if he or she fails to meet our summons a third time without a legally acceptable explanation," Johan said.
The KPK had so far summoned Nazaruddin twice already to be questioned as a witness in two corruption or bribery cases.
On June 10, the KPK had expected Nazaruddin to come to its office to testify in an alleged corruption case at the National Education Ministry but he did not. On June 13, he was to have presented himself at the KPK office to be heard as a witness in the bribery case involving Wafid Muharam, secretary to the youth and sports minister but he also failed to come.
Nazaruddin had thus twice ignored a KPK summons and there had been no reaction whatsoever from him to both summonses.
(Uu.A051/HAJM/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
