Jakarta – The corruption probe into former Indonesian President Suharto could drag down his successor President B.J. Habibie, the Indonesian Observer newspaper on Monday quoted one of Suharto's lawyers as saying.

"If the Suharto probe continues, President Habibie will become the next suspect because he is also a former minister of the Suharto cabinet," the paper quoted lawyer O.C. Kaligis as saying.

The Attorney-General's office is investigating allegations that Suharto corruptly amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune during his autocratic 32-year rule.

The former general was forced to stand down last May amid widespread civil bloodshed and the country's worst political and economic crisis in three decades.

His lawyers have formally asked the government to call off the investigation, saying it had failed to uncover any evidence of corruption.

The investigation has failed to locate rumoured overseas bank accounts and only about $3 million has been found in Suharto's Indonesian accounts, which he says he saved from his salary and from the rent from two houses he owned.

Kaligis said under Indonesia's legal system, it was inappropriate for a former president to be tried or punished just because he was responsible for state policies that in retrospect were considered faulty.

Suharto's policies had been considered by his cabinet ministers – including Habibie – before being implemented, he said.