Indonesia's minister for social affairs has been named a suspect by the country's anti-corruption commission over allegations he received the equivalent of at least $1.1 million in funds relating to COVID-19 aid for the poor.
The national anti-corruption commission, known by its Indonesian acronym KPK, said it is investigating Juliari Batubara for allegedly receiving the equivalent of millions of dollars in bribes "to be used for personal needs".
The KPK said in a statement it suspected 8.2 billion rupiah ($784,000) was received by Mr Batubara in cash.
The investigation of Mr Batubara comes as another blow to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, whose fisheries minister was arrested last week on corruption charges.
"I respect the ongoing legal process," Mr Widodo said, adding that he would "not protect anyone who is involved in corruption".
"I believe that the KPK works in a transparent, open and professional manner," he said.
Mr Batubara and two other officials are suspected of taking bribes relating to the procurement of goods worth 5.9 trillion rupiah ($564 million) for distribution as part of coronavirus assistance packages, KPK head Firli Bahuri told an online news briefing.
The commission arrested six others, while local media reported that Mr Batubara arrived at KPK headquarters in Jakarta early Sunday morning (local time).
Much of Indonesia's COVID stimulus remains unspent
Earlier in the year, the Jokowi administration announced around $63 billion in economic stimulus for the ailing Indonesian economy, much of which was earmarked for food aid and other social assistance to low income Indonesians.
But the Government has been slow to spend the money, with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati reporting earlier this week that only 62.1 per cent of the stimulus had been spent as of the end of November.
The remainder of the stimulus would be spent during December, she said.
Mr Widodo explicitly warned officials against siphoning the money in June.
The KPK said it had monitored the Government's handling of COVID-19 closely.
Unlike the fisheries minister Edhy Prabowo, Mr Batubara is a member of Mr Widodo's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP).
Australia recently agreed to loan Indonesia $1.5 billion in light of the South-East Asian country, which has the region's largest economy, falling into its first recession since the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s.
Mr Widodo has faced criticism from health professionals and activists over his Government's management of the pandemic.
Indonesia recorded its highest daily caseload yet on Thursday, reporting 8,369 new infections.
The country of 270 million has recorded more than 570,000 coronavirus cases and 17,589 deaths, although experts say the true numbers are likely higher due to low levels of testing.
It has recorded the most cases in Asia outside of India.
