Former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil's Lawyer Confirms Attendance at KPK Questioning
The lawyer for former Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Mellisa Anggraini, confirmed that her client would attend questioning by investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday, 12 March. Yaqut was to be questioned as a suspect in the alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quotas.
“That is correct. The summons is dated 6 March 2026,” said Mellisa when reached for confirmation on Thursday, 12 March.
“He will attend. However, the KPK itself issued a statement to the media as if it had not summoned him, even though it had already called Gus Yaqut long before the pre-trial ruling,” Mellisa added.
Previously, the KPK stated that it respected Yaqut’s pre-trial process and therefore did not conduct questioning or detention.
“Several witnesses and the person in question [Yaqut] will of course continue with their process going forward. The pre-trial is something we respect, a process that has been filed by YCQ. Going forward, we will focus more on handling the case,” said KPK Deputy for Investigation and Enforcement Asep Guntur Rahayu after a pre-trial judge ruled in Yaqut’s favour at the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, 11 March.
This one-star general confirmed that handling the alleged additional hajj quota corruption case remains a priority for completion, particularly as the Investigation Order (Sprindik) was issued as far back as August. Asep assured that the KPK would conclude the case as quickly as possible.
“As quickly as possible because this case is one where the Sprindik was issued last year, in August if I recall correctly. It has been ongoing, which is why it is a priority,” he said.
When asked about Yaqut’s detention, Asep explained that many factors were being considered, including case handling strategy. Furthermore, in this case there was another suspect—Yaqut’s special staff member named Ishfah Abidal Aziz, also known as Gus Alex.
“There are many things we need to consider. It is not just about meeting legal article requirements, but we also look at how the case will be handled. This case does not involve only one suspect; there is another suspect,” said Asep.
“As for detention, it is part of our strategy. We look at how we will handle the case and other factors. We give it consideration. If the considerations align, we certainly will not delay,” he added.
Yaqut and Ishfah were designated by the KPK as suspects in the alleged additional hajj quota corruption case. However, neither has been detained to date. The KPK previously stated it respected the ongoing pre-trial process.
Nevertheless, the KPK had requested the Directorate General of Immigration to once again prevent Yaqut and Ishfah from leaving the country for a period of six months until 12 August 2026.
During the investigation process, the KPK conducted searches at several locations, including Yaqut’s residence in Condet, East Jakarta, a hajj and umrah travel agency office in Jakarta, the residence of a Religious Affairs Ministry civil servant in Depok, and the office of the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Implementation (PHU) of the Religious Affairs Ministry. Numerous items of evidence allegedly related to the case were seized, including documents, electronic evidence, as well as vehicles and property.
Based on calculations by the Supreme Audit Institution (BPK), the state is said to have suffered losses totalling Rp622.090.207.166,41 (Rp622 billion) from the alleged additional hajj quota corruption case for the 2023 and 2024 operations.
This figure was released some time after Yaqut and Ishfah were designated and announced as suspects by the KPK.
Yaqut had attempted to escape legal proceedings by filing a pre-trial motion. However, that attempt failed.