Banser Visits KPK; Yaqut Cholil Qoumas Detained After Questioning
Barisan Ansor Serbaguna (Banser) gathered at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters when Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas was questioned as a suspect in a hajj quota corruption case. Qoumas was formally detained by the KPK following his questioning.
“We came to escort our brother,” stated an orator at the demonstration in front of the KPK’s Red and White Building in Jakarta on Thursday, 12 March.
Banser demanded fair treatment from the anti-corruption agency. The group also stated it would return to the KPK with larger crowds in future visits.
“Yaqut is our Banser Ansor adviser, friends. If our friend Yaqut is hurt, our blood will boil. We will fight unto death,” the speaker added.
The KPK commenced investigations into alleged hajj quota corruption on 9 August 2025. The Religious Affairs Ministry, led by Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, is suspected of unjustly distributing an additional 10,000 quotas to hajj pilgrims.
On 11 August 2025, the KPK announced preliminary calculations showing state losses of over Rp1 trillion in the case. Qoumas became one of three individuals barred from travelling abroad.
Besides Qoumas, those subject to travel bans included Ishfah Abidal Aziz (also known as Gus Alex), Qoumas’s staff member, and Fuad Hasan Masyhur, the proprietor of the Maktour hajj organising bureau.
On 4 March 2026, the KPK announced state financial losses from the case had reached Rp622 billion. On 11 March 2026, the South Jakarta District Court rejected Qoumas’s pre-trial motion.
The KPK seized assets valued at more than Rp100 billion, including five plots of land and buildings, in connection with the hajj quota corruption case involving former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
The KPK revealed that corruption funds from the hajj quota scheme flowed to the personal interests of former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut and were allegedly used to influence a special parliamentary committee. Former ministerial special staff Isfan Abidal Aziz reportedly panicked and attempted to return hajj fees to cover traces when the parliamentary committee was established.
The KPK disclosed the corruption modus operandi in the Religious Affairs Ministry involved fees of Rp65-84 million to skip the queue. Former ministerial special staff Yaqut set fees of Rp42.2 million per pilgrim to expedite hajj processing.