Controversy Over Gus Yaqut's House Arrest: 'KPK Leadership Deserves Scrutiny'
The granting of house arrest status to former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) continues to draw scrutiny. Anti-corruption activists believe those who issued the policy should be examined.
“The KPK Supervisory Board (Dewas) must conduct an investigation into the KPK leadership regarding this case,” said Head of the Legal and Investigation Division of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), Wana Alamsyah, to Republika on Sunday (22/2/2026).
ICW suspects that the KPK leadership approved the arrangement so that Yaqut could celebrate Eid al-Fitr with his family. ICW deems the process of granting this permission worthy of scrutiny by the KPK Dewas.
“It is reasonable to suspect that the KPK leadership knew about and approved the transfer of YCQ from the detention centre to house arrest,” Wana stated.
ICW also demands that the KPK provide a transparent explanation for the reasons behind moving Yaqut from the KPK detention centre to house arrest. This is because it represents a special privilege granted by the KPK to a corruption suspect.
“Based on ICW’s records, the KPK’s changes in detention are quite strict, one of which is due to illness,” Wana said.
Moreover, ICW is concerned that this could set a bad precedent for corruption eradication in Indonesia.
“Suspects have the potential to destroy or eliminate evidence, or influence witnesses when under house arrest,” Wana remarked.
In this hajj quota corruption case at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the KPK has designated Yaqut as a suspect along with former Special Staff to the Minister of Religious Affairs, Isfah Abidal Aziz (IAA), alias Gus Alex. The KPK then detained Suspect Yaqut for the first 20 days from 12 to 31 March 2026.
However, on 21 March 2026, it was revealed that Yaqut was not in detention. Yaqut’s absence from detention came to light after the wife of another corruption detainee revealed it to journalists following a visit. The KPK eventually admitted that Yaqut had indeed not been in the KPK detention cell since Thursday, 19 March 2026, or one day before Eid al-Fitr.
KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo stated that the KPK had granted the request to change Yaqut’s detention to house arrest, which had been submitted since 17 March 2026. “Investigators changed the type of detention for suspect YCQ (Yaqut) from detention at the KPK detention centre to house arrest since Thursday, 19 March evening,” Budi said in his statement on Sunday (22/3/2026).
Budi did not explain the reasons for the change in detention. However, he assured that Yaqut’s house arrest status was part of the case handling strategy.
“Every investigation process has different conditions and case handling strategies, including in detaining someone as a suspect,” Budi said.
The change in Yaqut’s detention status was made without a clear basis. This is because Yaqut was not in a state of illness, nor in a condition requiring suspension or deferment. According to Budi, the change in Yaqut’s detention status was purely based on a family request. “Not because of illness. It was indeed due to a request from the family,” Budi said.