Fearing that he could face prosecution for a second time, former national development planning (Bappenas) minister Paskah Suzetta denied allegations that he accepted any of the checks paid to swing the vote for Miranda Goeltom in the 2004 Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor election. Paskah is currently serving a 16- month jail term after being found guilty for accepting gratuities in the same case. The former minister was presented by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors as a witness against businesswoman Nunun Nurbaeti, who allegedly distributed the checks worth Rp 20.85 billion to at least 33 of his fellow lawmakers on the House of Representatives’ finance commission.

The original article can be found at thejakartapost.com.