KPK Accelerates Case Filing for Hajj Quota Corruption, Former Minister Yaqut to Soon Face Trial

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has revealed the reason for examining former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (YCQ) during the Eid holiday. Investigators aim to accelerate the case filing for the alleged bribery in the organisation and distribution of hajj quotas so that it can soon be handed over to the prosecution stage. “To ensure it can be promptly resolved and the investigative file completed, so that stage two or handover to prosecution can be carried out soon,” said KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo on Wednesday (25/3). KPK asserts that it possesses strong evidence, including audit results on the state losses arising from the hajj quota deviations. All investigative findings are planned to be disclosed transparently in the upcoming trial process. “When this case enters the trial stage, the public can openly view and scrutinise every fact that emerges in the proceedings,” Budi added. In this case, KPK has designated two main suspects: former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas and former Special Staff to the Minister, Isfan Abidal Aziz (IAA) or Gus Alex. The investigation focuses on the manipulation of 20,000 additional hajj quotas allocated to Indonesia. According to regulations, these quotas should have been distributed with 92 percent for regular hajj and 8 percent for special hajj. However, the suspects are alleged to have changed the policy to an equal 50-50 split, which is suspected to have opened the door to bribery practices. To date, investigators have examined dozens of witnesses from within the Ministry of Religious Affairs to private parties providing umrah travel services, to strengthen the legal construction before the case is tried.