KPK Investigation Reveals Former Religion Minister Yaqut's Million-Dollar Bribery Scheme for Parliamentary Hajj Committee

JAKARTA — Former Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, a suspect in the 2024 hajj quota corruption case, allegedly attempted to influence the Parliament’s Special Hajj Committee through financial incentives.

When the Hajj Special Committee began holding hearings or meetings in Parliament, Yaqut offered money to its members to smooth the path for his illicit scheme.

“The amount of money was approximately USD 1 million, but it was rejected,” said Asep Guntur Rahayu, KPK Deputy for Enforcement and Execution, at the Red and White Building in Jakarta on Thursday (12 March 2026).

Asep stated that the money was collected by Religion Ministry officials under the direction of Yaqut’s former special staff, Ishfah Abidal Aziz, alias Gus Alex, from a pilgrimage travel agency association forum.

“This amounted to at least USD 2,500 (approximately Rp 42.2 million) per pilgrim as a fee, commitment fee, or other charge, in order to obtain additional special hajj quotas, also known as T0 or TX quotas,” he explained.

For context, Indonesia received an additional 20,000 hajj quotas in 2024. These quotas were supposed to be divided at 92 per cent for regular hajj and 8 per cent for special hajj.

However, the distribution was unilaterally altered by Yaqut to 50 per cent regular hajj (10,000) and 50 per cent special hajj (10,000).