KPK Leadership Urged to Explain Granting of House Arrest to Yaqut Cholil Qoumas
Former KPK investigator Praswad Nugraha has launched a scathing critique against KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo regarding the shift in detention status of former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas from KPK detention centre to house arrest. Praswad views the KPK’s rationale—that the decision falls entirely within the investigators’ authority—as an evasion of accountability.
“The KPK spokesperson’s response stating that the change in Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’s house arrest status is wholly the investigators’ prerogative is a hallucinatory answer. It is as if they are shifting all blame to the field officers,” Praswad stated in a written release on Monday (23/3/2026).
Praswad is urging the KPK leadership to come forward and explain this phenomenon, which he deems irregular, to the public. He questions whether corruptors are now being granted special treatment to enjoy house arrest facilities.
“The KPK leadership must step forward and answer these public questions as clearly as possible. Is it true that in this era, corruptors can enjoy house arrest? If so, I urge all KPK detainees to make the same request so we can witness the most ridiculous drama in anti-corruption efforts since the KPK was established,” he emphasised.
Furthermore, Praswad suspects intervention behind this controversial policy. He warns the KPK against conducting negotiations in dark rooms that could destroy the long-built law enforcement system.
“If there is indeed political pressure on the KPK, point out who it is. Let us bring it into the open, allowing the individual to be accountable in public,” he added.
Previously, the KPK issued an official explanation regarding the change in Yaqut’s detention status from the KPK Detention Centre (Rutan) to house arrest. KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo emphasised that the shift in detention type is temporary.
Budi explained that the investigators’ decision took effect from Thursday night (19/3/2026), following a request submitted by the suspect’s family in the alleged 2024 Hajj quota corruption case.
“It is true that the investigators have shifted the detention type for suspect YCQ to house arrest since last Thursday night. This shift was based on a request from the family on 17 March 2026,” Budi stated in his official remarks to the media on Sunday (22/3/2026).
Budi stated that the decision underwent thorough legal review. The legal basis used is Article 108 paragraphs (1) and (11) of Law No. 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP).
That article regulates the types of detention places and the investigators’ authority to shift detention status based on certain considerations.
“We assure that the process of this temporary detention shift complies with the provisions and procedures for investigation and detention of a suspect,” Budi said.
The lawyer for former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Dodi S Abdulkadir, has spoken out regarding his client’s detention status being shifted to house arrest.
Legal expert Herdiansyah Hamzah assesses that the KPK granting house arrest status to former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas degrades the institution’s dignity.
The KPK guarantees that shifting former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’s detention status to house arrest will not disrupt the legal process in the 2024 Hajj quota corruption case.
KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo states that the change in detention status for former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas from Detention Centre to house arrest is temporary.
Former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas is now under house arrest. ICW assesses this as highly risky due to the potential for evidence tampering in the Hajj quota corruption case.
Legal expert Herdiansyah Hamzah assesses that the KPK granting house arrest status to former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas degrades the institution’s dignity.
Legal observers criticise the KPK over shifting Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’s detention to house arrest. This policy is deemed non-transparent and raises suspicions of special treatment.
Executive Director of Lingkar Madani (LiMA), Ray Rangkuti, criticises the KPK’s policy of granting house arrest status to the suspect in the Hajj quota corruption case, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
Chairman of Exponen 08, M. Damar, requests that the KPK Supervisory Board or other authorities immediately examine KPK officials who permitted Yaqut Cholil Qoumas to be placed under house arrest.
The KPK guarantees that shifting former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’s detention status to house arrest will not disrupt the legal process in the 2024 Hajj quota corruption case.