KPK Exposes T0 Pilgrimage Scheme: Pay USD 5,000 for Newly Registered Pilgrims to Depart Immediately
The Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) has exposed facts in an alleged corruption case involving the administration of Hajj quotas. Prospective pilgrims were allegedly able to depart immediately to the holy land without queuing by depositing a sum of money.
Asep Guntur Rahayu, Deputy for Prosecution and Execution at the KPK, revealed that this scheme involved the former Head of the Licensing, Accreditation, and Special Hajj Implementation Development Division at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Rizky Fisa Abadi (RFA). Rizky is suspected of operating under instructions from the former Special Staff to the Religious Minister, Ishfah Abidal Aziz (IIA), also known as Gus Alex.
“The directive from brother IIA was to loosen policies related to T0, or newly registered pilgrims, to depart for Hajj directly,” Asep stated at the KPK Red and White Building in South Jakarta on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
Asep explained that T0 or TX is a code given to pilgrims who registered and departed in the same year.
In this scheme, prospective Hajj pilgrims were required to make an additional payment of USD 5,000 to cut the national queue that should have been followed according to legal sequence. This money not only accelerated departure but also manipulated the administrative status of pilgrims’ visas.
Through these deposits, pilgrims’ Hajj visas were diverted from mujamalah status (invitation-based Hajj) to special Hajj status. The accumulated funds were then allegedly distributed to several officials at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, including former Religious Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (YCQ).
Regarding this case, the KPK has detained former Religious Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas for an initial 20-day period for investigation purposes. In addition to Yaqut, Gus Alex has also been designated as a suspect in the scandal that undermined the national Hajj queuing system.
The KPK designated former Religious Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (YCQ) and former Special Staff to the Religious Minister Isfan Abidal Aziz (IAA), also known as Gus Alex, as suspects in the alleged bribery case involving the administration and distribution of Hajj quotas. The KPK pledged to bring the case to trial.
The issue in this corruption case stems from the distribution of quotas not conforming to applicable regulations. Indonesia was actually granted an additional 20,000 quotas to accelerate the Hajj queue.
From this total, the government should have distributed it at a ratio of 92 per cent for regular Hajj and 8 per cent for special Hajj. However, several parties instead distributed it equally at 50 per cent each.
The KPK has interviewed numerous officials at the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Additionally, representatives of Umrah travel service providers were also questioned, including Islamic preacher Khalid Basalamah.
The KPK detained former Religious Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas in connection with alleged corruption of Hajj quotas. The suspect is alleged to have received a fee of Rp84.4 million per quota through the T0 code.
The KPK revealed that state losses from the Hajj quota corruption case reached Rp622 billion. Former Religious Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas was formally detained on suspicion of quota manipulation.
The KPK exposed that corruption money from the Hajj quota scheme flowed for the personal interests of former Religious Minister Yaqut and allegedly to influence a parliamentary special committee. The KPK demanded that the Directorate General of Immigration extend the detention of former Religious Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas and former Special Staff Isfan Abidal Aziz regarding alleged corruption in the distribution of Hajj quotas.
The KPK ultimately revealed the technical reasons behind the decision to detain former Religious Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (YCQ), the suspect in the alleged Hajj quota corruption case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) revealed the origins of the alleged bribery case in the administration and distribution of Hajj quotas at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Rudianto Lallo, expressed full support for the KPK’s decision to detain former Religious Minister (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
The KPK formally detained former Religious Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (YCQ) until 31 March 2026 in connection with the Hajj quota corruption case.