Expert at Yaqut Hearing: State Loss Must Exist Before a Suspect
Criminal law expert from Wahid Hasyim University Semarang, Mahrus Ali, argued that an audit of state losses in a case of alleged corruption must exist before law enforcement designated someone as a suspect.
Mahrus Ali expressed this view when he was presented by the defence counsel for former Indonesian Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas in the continued examination of a pre-trial hearing at the South Jakarta District Court, on Thursday (5 March).
“In this context, there must be a consequence in the form of state financial losses calculated by a state body which states, based on the results of an investigative audit, that losses to the state have arisen, and that must exist before a person is named a suspect, not afterwards,” said Mahrus Ali in the Oemar Seno Adji courtroom of South Jakarta District Court, on Thursday (5 March).
He added that the leadership of the KPK does not have the authority to designate someone as a suspect. According to him, the designation of a suspect is the authority of the investigator, as provided for in the new rules such as the new KUHAP and the new KPK Law.
“It is the investigator who signs directly; therefore, if the designation is made in the name of the KPK’s leadership, the person has no authority to take legal action in the context of naming a suspect,” he added.
Mahrus Ali explained that the designation of a suspect must be set out in the form of a Surat Penetapan Tersangka (Suspect Determination Letter), not merely in a notification letter.
Under Article 90(1) and (2) of the new KUHAP, it is emphasised that the designation of a suspect must be carried out by an Investigator and set out in a Suspect Determination Letter signed by the Investigator. The new KUHAP also defines “Investigator” restrictively as the police (Polri), PPNS, or a specific investigator authorised by law.
“The notification letter must be attached to the Suspect Determination Letter. So, if there is only a notification letter and no Suspect Determination Letter, that would violate Article 90(2) of the KUHAP,” he said.
Earlier, Yaqut’s legal team questioned the results of the calculation of state losses in the case of alleged corruption in the additional Hajj quota, which was issued after their client was named a suspect through an Investigation Order (Sprindik) dated 8 January 2026.
However, according to Yaqut’s defence counsel, Mellisa Anggraini, in each suspect designation, the state’s losses that are real, concrete and definite must be proven by law enforcement authorities in advance.
“Because without such losses, the corrupt act that is claimed would not be found,” Mellisa said while reading her replication in the pre-trial hearing at South Jakarta District Court, on Wednesday (4 March).
She explained that Articles 2 and 3 of the Anti-Corruption Act (UU Tipikor) have been interpreted as material offences through Constitutional Court decision 25 of 2016. She stressed that state losses must be real.
“There is not a single piece of evidence up to 8 January 2026 showing any calculation of state financial losses, including the amount of the losses, their origin or the consequences that caused them, or their direct link to the act of the applicant upon which the suspect designation is based,” Mellisa said.
Yaqut together with his Special Assistant named Ishfah Abidal Aziz, alias Gus Alex, were designated by the KPK as suspects in the case of alleged corruption in the additional Hajj quota. However, both have not been detained.
Nevertheless, the KPK has asked the Directorate General of Immigration to prevent Yaqut and Ishfah from leaving the country for six months until 12 August 2026.
During the investigation, the KPK has searched a number of places including Yaqut’s residence in Condet, East Jakarta, a Hajj and Umrah travel agency’s office in Jakarta, a civil servant’s home at the Ministry of Religion in Depok, and the office of the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah (PHU) of the Ministry of Religion.
Many items of evidence are believed to be related to the case and were seized, including documents, Electronic Evidence (BBE), as well as four-wheeled vehicles and property.
According to calculations by the Audit Board (BPK), the state is said to have suffered losses amounting to Rp622,090,207,166.41 (about Rp622 billion) from the alleged corruption case involving the additional Hajj quota for 2023 and 2024.
The figure was released some time later, well after Yaqut and Ishfah were designated and announced by the KPK as suspects.