Former Religion Minister Yaqut Demands KPK Prove State Financial Loss Before Designating Him as Suspect

Jakarta — Former Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (Gus Yaqut) contends that designating someone as a suspect must be preceded by evidence of financial loss to the state. Yaqut claimed this position is aligned between himself and expert witnesses.

Yaqut made this statement after attending a pre-trial hearing with an agenda of submitting conclusions from each party at South Jakarta District Court on Monday (9 March 2026). “I am very grateful because there is mutual understanding, tafahum, between the expert witnesses for the respondent and the expert witnesses for the applicant on several matters,” Yaqut said after the hearing.

Yaqut admitted he has been carefully observing the statements of expert witnesses throughout the hearing. Yaqut mentioned that one point of consensus was that expert witnesses considered suspect designation must be preceded by evidence of financial loss to the state.

“Most importantly, both the expert witnesses from the applicant and respondent have mutual understanding that the designation of a suspect must go through a process or there must already be proof of state financial loss first,” Yaqut stated.

Furthermore, Yaqut is confident that the pre-trial hearing process has been conducted objectively. Yaqut observed that the experts provided objective and comprehensive perspectives.

“Not only has the judicial process been objective but also the expert witnesses presented have provided understanding in an objective and comprehensive manner. So there are many areas of consensus among these experts, one of which I mentioned earlier,” Yaqut said.

Yaqut filed for a pre-trial hearing to request that the presiding judge dismiss his suspect status in an alleged pilgrimage quota corruption case that was designated by the KPK.