Jakarta – The Indonesian Attorney-General's Office has found initial evidence of corruption in four contracts agreed by state oil and gas company Pertamina during the rule of former President Suharto.

Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman said the four contracts were selected out of the 159 contracts and proposals which showed 'indications of corruption' and were submitted to the government by Pertamina after Mr Suharto's downfall in 1998.

Almost all the 159 contracts and project proposals involved Mr Suharto's family and cronies, he said. The four deals, signed between 1992 and 1993, were all oil and gas technical assistance contracts, Mr Darusman said.

He said his office found irregularities in the signing of the four contracts which led to state losses of US$18.99 million.