Although Arifin Panigoro smiled continuously at journalists at his home on Jalan Jenggala, Jakarta, he still looked ill at ease. He had good reason to as that afternoon the Attorney General's Office (AGO) had declared the oil baron a suspect. The charge is a serious one: Arifin stands accused of misusing US$75 million (approximately Rp825 billion) borrowed by Medco from PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia.

Although this is a legal matter, in the