Jakarta – In one of the Indonesia's highest profile anti-corruption arrests to date, prosecutors on Tuesday detained the governor of Aceh province for allegedly embezzling US$1.3 million of state funds.

Officials said Abdullah Puteh would be detained at a Jakarta prison after being questioned by the state Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over his role in an alleged mark-up of a Russian helicopter purchased for official use in Aceh.

The arrest comes a week after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who pledged to get tough on graft after taking office in October, met Puteh on an official visit to Aceh, where government troops are fighting separatists.

Juan Felix Tampubolon, a lawyer for the governor, said the detention order came after prosecutors completed court documents for Puteh's upcoming trial. "The head of the commission decided that Mr. Puteh must be held in detention due to fears he will flee the law. Clearly this is an exaggeration since my client has always been cooperative during questionings," he told AFP.

The resource-rich but impoverished province, situated on the northern tip of Sumatra island, bought the helicopter about two years ago for twice the price the navy paid for a similar machine, an anti-corruption commissioner has said.

Another Puteh lawyer Otto Cornelis Kaligis said his client's detention was "clearly politically-motivated."

Police have said Puteh is also being questioned as a witness about a suspected mark-up in the provincial government's Rp 30 billion ($3.3 million) purchase of generators.