KPK Examines Khalid Basalamah, He Claims to Have Returned IDR 8.5 Billion Related to Hajj Quota Case
Ustaz Khalid Basalamah (KB) was examined by the KPK as a witness in the hajj quota corruption case at the Ministry of Religious Affairs for 2023-2024. Khalid admitted to having returned IDR 8.5 billion.
According to detikNews, Khalid completed his examination around 6:35 PM WIB. Khalid claimed to have returned IDR 8.5 billion and explained the matter regarding the funds.
“So, PT Muhibbah returned the funds to us, and we didn’t know what the money was for. The amount was around IDR 8.4 billion, something like that,” Khalid said after the examination at the KPK building in South Jakarta on Thursday (23/4/2026).
He stated that the money came from PT Muhibbah, the party that offered hajj departures to Khalid’s travel agency. Nevertheless, Khalid claimed he did not know the origin of the returned money.
“When it was returned to us, we weren’t told what the money was. The money was just given to us. Then, when summoned by the KPK, the KPK said, ‘Ustaz, there is money from the visa.’ I said, ‘Yes, there is.’ ‘Ustaz, you must return it.’ So, we returned it. The money wasn’t kept by us. It was given by Muhibbah, and we didn’t know what it was. The KPK asked us to return it when requested. That’s the extent of it. Once again, in this case, we are the victims,” he added.
Khalid denied receiving illegal funds in the hajj quota corruption case. He claimed not to know the former Minister of Religious Affairs or his staff. Khalid emphasised that in this case, his name was only listed as a pilgrim with PT Muhibbah.
“There are names here that I have never interacted with, like the former Minister of Religious Affairs, his special staff—I don’t know them,” he revealed.
It is known that Khalid was summoned as part of the examinations of Penyelenggara Ibadah Haji Khusus (PIHK) or travel agencies. Khalid has also been examined by the KPK several times, most recently on 9 September 2025.
The KPK had previously seized money from Khalid. The money seized from Ustaz Khalid was said to be ‘acceleration’ funds allegedly demanded by Kemenag officials.
There are four individuals who have been named as suspects in this case, namely:
Former Menag Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (YCQ)
Former special staff to Yaqut, Ishfah Abidal Azis alias Gus Alex (IAA)
Operational Director of PT Makassar Toraja (Maktour) Ismail Adham (ISM)
Chairman of Asosiasi Kesthuri Asrul Azis Taba (ASR).
The KPK suspects that Ismail and Asrul gave money to Yaqut as the former Menag. The money was given through an intermediary, namely Yaqut’s former special staff, Gus Alex.
Ismail is suspected of giving USD 30,000 to Gus Alex. Ismail also, according to Asep, handed over USD 5,000 to the former Director General of PHU at Kemenag in 2024, Hilman Latief (HL).
The KPK stated that the state losses in this case amount to IDR 622 billion. The figure for state losses was calculated by the Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (BPK).