Alex Denies Money Flow from Hajj Corruption to Yaqut
Gus Alex (Ishfah Abidal Aziz), the former Special Staff to the Religion Minister, has denied that any funds from the alleged 2023-2024 hajj quota corruption case flowed to former Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
Initially, Alex stated that there were no orders whatsoever from Yaqut regarding the distribution of regular and special hajj quotas in 2023 and 2024. “There were no orders of any kind from Gus Yaqut,” he said whilst being escorted to a detention vehicle from the KPK’s Red and White Building on Tuesday (17 March).
Alex claimed there was no flow of funds to Yaqut in connection with the distribution of special hajj quotas. “No, no, there was not,” he stated repeatedly.
Alex declined to provide further comment when asked about the collection of funds from hajj and umrah travel agencies. “I have already informed the investigators about everything; I have provided much information. Please direct your questions to the investigators and my legal team,” he said.
Previously, the KPK revealed that funds had flowed from fees or commitment fees collected from prospective special hajj pilgrims, which were used to influence the Special Committee (Pansus) overseeing hajj operations at the Indonesian Parliament (DPR RI).
In the allocation of additional special hajj quotas for 2023, the former Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas is alleged to have requested fees of approximately US$4,000-5,000 (approximately Rp67.5 million to Rp84.4 million) from hajj travel agencies.
Both Yaqut and Gus Alex have been designated as suspects by the KPK and are in detention.
During the ongoing investigation, the KPK has conducted searches at multiple locations including Yaqut’s residence in Condet, East Jakarta; hajj and umrah travel agency offices in Jakarta; a civil servant’s residence at the Religion Ministry in Depok; and the office of the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Implementation (PHU) at the Religion Ministry.
Numerous pieces of evidence allegedly related to the case have been seized, including documents, electronic evidence, four-wheeled vehicles, and property.
According to calculations by the Indonesian Financial Audit Board (BPK), the state incurred losses of approximately Rp622.090.207.166.41 (Rp622 billion) from the alleged corruption involving additional hajj quotas for the 2023 and 2024 pilgrimages.