Jeremy Wagstaff and Puspa Madani, Jakarta – Succumbing to public pressure, Indonesian Attorney General Andi Ghalib stepped down amid a corruption scandal that offers a glimpse of simmering tensions among the country's elites as they await the results of this month's elections.

Ministers said Mr. Ghalib had asked to be suspended from duty while he deals with allegations that he took payments from businessmen.

Mr. Ghalib, a serving lieutenant general, had come under increasing pressure to step down after Indonesian Corruption Watch, an independent organization, last week revealed what it said were details of bank transactions showing Mr. Ghalib and his wife had accepted up to $1.6 million from Indonesian tycoons who were under investigation by his office for banking irregularities. Mr. Ghalib has admitted receiving the money, but says it was received in his capacity as head of the Indonesian Wrestling Association. He has denied any wrongdoing and has filed a defamation suit against two Corruption Watch officials.

Mr. Ghalib has been a key member of the government of President B.J. Habibie, responsible for investigating allegations that former President Suharto illegally amassed billions of dollars during his 32-year rule. For Mr. Habibie, a onetime Suharto protege, the investigation has become a measure of his commitment to reform – and his chances of being elected president by an assembly later this year. Mr. Ghalib's investigation has made little progress, despite a visit to investigate banks in Austria and Switzerland late last month.

The scandal comes at an awkward time for Mr. Habibie, threatening to undermine his support as jockeying among parties begins ahead of the selection of a new president later this year. Votes are still being counted from polls held on June 7 for a 500-seat parliament, Indonesia's first free elections since 1955. The parliament would fill most of a 700-seat assembly whose main task is to select the country's next president. While the current ruling party, Golkar, has nominated Mr. Habibie as its presidential candidate, some politicians have advocated jettisoning him in a bid to attract support from smaller parties for a coalition.

Unofficial results late Monday showed that with just over half the votes counted, Golkar has 21%, behind the opposition, Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle, which has 36%.

The timing has prompted some diplomats and officials to wonder whether this case had some assistance from behind the scenes. They note that the evidence was detailed and comprehensive, including original bank slips, indicating that someone familiar with banking and with Mr. Ghalib was involved. Bank Lippo, where the accounts were held, has denied any of its staff were involved. Indonesian Corruption Watch member Teten Masduki said he doesn't know where the material came from.

Some diplomats and officials saw the suspension as a move by Mr. Habibie to distance himself from the scandal. "Habibie has lost ground by not sacking (Mr. Ghalib) straightaway," one diplomat said. "But this may have won some back for him."

But a lawyer for Mr. Ghalib, Ruhut Sitompul, denied Mr. Habibie had pressured the attorney general to step down. "In fact, it was Habibie who supported him to stay on," Mr. Sitompul said.

Mr. Habibie last Thursday announced a week-long audit of Mr. Ghalib's accounts, to be undertaken by Arthur Anderson & Co. and Prasetio Utomo Consult. Military police are also investigating the case. But public pressure to do more continued to mount, especially after Mr. Ghalib raised some hackles by calling Indonesian Corruption Watch member Mr. Masduki an "animal" and vowing to pursue him to the grave.

Mr. Masduki on Monday welcomed the attorney general's temporary resignation but said Indonesia had a long way to go in eradicating corruption.

Ministers said after a meeting with the president that Mr. Ghalib had submitted a letter of resignation dated June 9, and had been temporarily replaced by Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Affairs, Feisal Tanjung. Armed-forces leader Gen. Wiranto, Mr. Ghalib's commanding officer, said the attorney general wanted to concentrate on the defamation lawsuit.