A Fugitive embroiled in a high-profile corruption case in Indonesia is thought to be staying in Phnom Penh, media reports citing Indonesia’s Minister for Law and Human Rights said yesterday.

Minister Patrialis Akbar told reporters on Monday that Nunun Nurbarti is “not in Thailand anymore but in Phnom Penh”, the Jakarta Post reported.

Nunun fled Indonesia after a graft scandal – which has implicated 25 politicians in the country – broke out last year.

She has been accused of distributing travellers’ cheques in 2004 to ensure votes for Miranda S. Goeltorm. He was later elected as the central bank’s senior governor by the House of Representative, according to Indonesian media.

Nunun was officially named as a suspect in an investigation by Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission last month and her passport was revoked. She ignored a previous commission subpoena, the Jakarta Post reported, saying she had acute amnesia and needed medical treatment abroad.

She is thought to have travelled to Singapore then Thailand, before moving again before her passport was withdrawn. Patrialis Akbar said that she entered Cambodia on March 21.

The director of general immigration at Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights was reported as saying that “Nunun was recorded to have left [Thailand] for Phnom Penh”.

“Once we know where she is, we will cooperate with our representative offices and issue a travel permit for her to come home,” he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has now ordered her arrest and return, the Jakarta Globe reported last night, citing a presidential staffer on foreign relations.

Yesterday afternoon, Cambodian officials said they had not received information from Indonesia regarding Nunun. Major General Chhay Sinarith, director of the Internal Security Department at the Ministry of Interior, said: “It reported only through the media, but we do not see any official information … but we will take measures if we get an order.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong also said he had not received word from Indonesia as yet, adding that the two countries did not have an extradition treaty.

“We don’t need to do an investigation over this case if we don’t get a request from Indonesia to our country,” he said.

Representatives from the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh could not be reached for comment yesterday.