The embattled speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives resigned Wednesday over his involvement in one of the biggest political scandals in years, in which he allegedly sought kickbacks from a giant U.S.-owned gold and copper mine in exchange for helping it extend its operating contract. Setya Novanto from the opposition Golkar Party has been at the centre of the scandal, which began with a meeting in June with Maroef Sjamsoeddin, chief executive of PT Freeport Indonesia, at which he and a businessman allegedly used the names of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla to seek stakes in the mining company.