By Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Indonesia Correspondent

JAKARTA: The head of Indonesia's anti-corruption agency was yesterday named by the government as a suspect and a mastermind in a high-profile murder being investigated by the police - an announcement that has shocked the country.

Mr Antasari Azhar, 56, who leads the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), is one of several suspects in the murder of company director Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, said spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office Jasman Panjaitan.

'This is a premeditated murder case and it has been declared that Antasari Azhar is among the masterminds,' he told a press briefing yesterday.

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