Gus Alex Silent on Payments to Yaqut; KPK: He Represents the Minister
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) formally detained former Special Assistant to the Religious Affairs Minister Isfan Abidal Aziz, known as Gus Alex, on Tuesday, 17 March. The detention relates to alleged bribery in the administration and distribution of hajj quotas at the Religious Affairs Ministry (Kemenag).
Despite being formally detained, Gus Alex remained defiant and evasive regarding any involvement of former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. He denied receiving any special instructions concerning the misappropriation of hajj quotas.
“There are no instructions from Gus Yaqut, none at all,” Gus Alex firmly stated as he was escorted to the detention vehicle at the KPK’s Red and White Building in South Jakarta.
This statement contradicted the case construction developed by investigators. The KPK asserted that Gus Alex’s position at Kemenag constituted an absolute representation of Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. This meant every instruction issued by Gus Alex was followed by Kemenag officials as if it were the minister’s word.
Asep Guntur Rahayu, Deputy for Enforcement and Execution at the KPK, explained that Gus Alex played a dominant role in collecting money from various parties. Investigators believe the money received by Gus Alex ultimately served to meet Yaqut’s personal needs.
“GA is a special assistant to YCQ. So the officials there at that time considered whatever GA conveyed to be a representation of YCQ, which they regarded as YCQ’s instruction,” Asep Guntur stated.
The KPK employed a simple analogy to explain Gus Alex’s role in this corruption. According to Asep, transferring money to the minister’s representative is equivalent to transferring it directly to the minister in question.
“In other words, if I want to give money to person A and there is a representation of person B, I don’t need to give it directly to A. I can just give it to B because that is the same as giving it to A,” Asep clarified.
To date, the KPK continues to investigate the specific needs of the minister allegedly funded through proceeds from the hajj quota corruption. Meanwhile, Gus Alex refused to comment further on the details of the money flow.
“I have already told the investigators; I have told them much already,” he concluded briefly before entering the detention vehicle.