{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1696952,
        "msgid": "khalid-basalamah-claims-no-interaction-with-yaqut-cholil-1776988309",
        "date": "2026-04-23 20:45:21",
        "title": "Khalid Basalamah claims no interaction with Yaqut Cholil",
        "author": "",
        "source": "ANTARA_ID",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Legal",
        "summary": "In a statement following his examination as a witness in the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) investigation into the alleged corruption of Hajj quotas, preacher and travel agency owner Khalid Basalamah denied any interactions with former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas or other key figures involved, including Fuad Hasan Masyhur, Ismail Adham, and Asrul Aziz Taba. The case, which began in August 2025, involves significant financial losses to the state amounting to Rp622 billion as per a BPK audit, leading to the arrest of Yaqut and others in early 2026. This testimony underscores the expanding scope of the probe into irregularities in Indonesia's 2023-2024 Hajj allocations, highlighting potential networks of influence within the religious affairs sector.",
        "content": "<p>Jakarta (ANTARA) - Preacher and owner of the Hajj travel agency PT\nZahra Oto Mandiri, or Uhud Tour, Khalid Zeed Abdullah Basalamah claims\nhe has never interacted with one of the suspects in the alleged\ncorruption case regarding Hajj quotas, former Minister of Religious\nAffairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. \u201cThere are names I have never interacted\nwith, such as the former Minister of Religious Affairs and his special\nstaff, whom I do not know,\u201d said Khalid after being questioned by the\nCorruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as a witness in the Hajj quota\ncase at the KPK\u2019s Red and White Building in Jakarta on Thursday.\nAdditionally, the Chairman of the Main Council of Indonesian Hajj and\nUmrah Travel Associations (Mutiara Haji) claims he has never interacted\nwith the Board of Trustees of the Hajj and Umrah Travel Associations\nFriendship Forum (SATHU), as well as the owner of the Hajj organiser\nagency Maktour, Fuad Hasan Masyhur. \u201cNo interaction. For matters like\nthis, certainly not,\u201d he said. He also claims not to know two new\nsuspects in the Hajj quota case, namely Maktour\u2019s Operational Director\nIsmail Adham and the General Chairman of the Indonesian Hajj and Umrah\nTour Travel Union (Kesthuri), Asrul Aziz Taba. \u201cOh no, no,\u201d he said.\nPreviously, on 9 August 2025, the KPK initiated an investigation into\nthe alleged corruption of Indonesia\u2019s Hajj quotas for 2023-2024. On 9\nJanuary 2026, the KPK named former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut\nCholil Qoumas and Ishfah Abidal Aziz alias Gus Alex as suspects.\nMeanwhile, Fuad Hasan Masyhur, owner of the Hajj organiser agency\nMaktour, was not named as a suspect, although he was once banned from\nleaving the country. The KPK then received the results of an audit by\nthe Financial Audit Board (BPK) of the Republic of Indonesia on 27\nFebruary 2026, which stated that the state financial losses in the case\namounted to Rp622 billion. Subsequently, on 12 March 2026, the KPK\ndetained Yaqut at the KPK\u2019s Red and White Building State Detention House\nbranch, followed by the detention of Ishfah on 17 March 2026. The KPK\nonce shifted Yaqut\u2019s detention status to house arrest on 19 March 2026\nat the family\u2019s request, but re-detained him at the KPK Detention House\non 24 March 2026. On 30 March 2026, the KPK named two new suspects,\nnamely Maktour\u2019s Operational Director Ismail Adham and the General\nChairman of the Indonesian Hajj and Umrah Tour Travel Union (Kesthuri),\nAsrul Aziz Taba.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/khalid-basalamah-claims-no-interaction-with-yaqut-cholil-1776988309",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}