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Jakarta.  The Attorney General’s Office on Friday outlined why it believed it had a strong case for naming high-profile figures as suspects in the Web graft scandal.

Former justice minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra and tycoon Hartono Tanoesoedibjo were named suspects two years after the probe began and after three people were convicted of corruption related to a Justice Ministry Web site.

An AGO official said the convicts and the suspects were trying to distract attention from their involvement by twisting the facts to win public sympathy.

Yusril has claimed the appointment of Attorney General Hendarman Supandji is illegal, while Hartono fled on the eve of a travel ban.

The controversy took a new turn when Hartono’s younger brother, media mogul Hary, met prosecutors to discuss an offer to pay reparations for any losses incurred in the Web case.

Former ministry director general Romli Atmasasmita, who was convicted and jailed for one year, has repeatedly denied there was any graft.

Yohanes Waworuntu, a director for Hartono’s PT Sarana Rekatama Dinamika, which operated the site, got five years’ probation. He has since filed a complaint with the National Commission on Human Rights and the Judicial Commission.

“We can’t let conflicting statements influence the ongoing legal proceedings,” said deputy attorney general for internal supervision Marwan Effendy, who led the probe for two years while a deputy for special crimes.

“The AGO didn’t invent a story,” he went on.

“We received a complaint from notarial offices about the fees, which were higher than those in Singapore.

“We started an investigation based on that. The fee was supposed to be Rp 300,000 [$33] but the site charged more than Rp 1 million.”

The site did not have approval from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), nor a revenue-sharing agreement.

Marwan also pointed out the uneven revenue split — 90 percent for Sarana and 10 percent for the ministry.

The system cost less than Rp 5 billion so could easily have been set up by the ministry.

“Why should a private firm get involved?” he said.

Marwan said he feared the mounting controversies would distract from the investigations against Hartono and Yusril. Heru Andriyanto