KPK Reveals Former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas Ordered Additional Hajj Quota Separated
The former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas is alleged to have issued instructions to his special staff member Ishfah Abidal Aziz, known as Gus Alex, to divide an additional 20,000 hajj quotas for 2024 separately from Indonesia’s regular allocation, according to the KPK Deputy for Enforcement and Execution, Asep Guntur Rahayu, in connection with alleged hajj quota corruption charges.
At the time, Indonesia’s hajj quota of 221,000 had already been entered into the e-Hajj application system. Gus Alex subsequently communicated with various parties to separate the additional 20,000 hajj quotas.
“IAA stated that the 20,000 additional quotas were divided equally or 50 per cent based on direction or instruction from YCQ (Yaqut Cholil Qoumas),” Asep said at KPK headquarters in Jakarta on Friday, 13 March.
Asep explained that the separation between the hajj quota already in the system and the additional quota constituted an indication of irregularity.
Qoumas’s staff member Gus Alex subsequently communicated with the Saudi Arabian Government so that the distribution of additional hajj quotas would not appear to violate Law No. 8 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah Pilgrimage.
“The person in question (Gus Alex) discussed and received direction from YCQ in his capacity as Religious Affairs Minister,” said Asep.
The KPK formally arrested Yaqut Cholil Qoumas on Thursday, 12 March, after he underwent questioning at KPK headquarters. On 9 January 2026, the KPK announced that two of three individuals who had been prevented from leaving became suspects in the alleged hajj quota corruption case, namely Qoumas and Gus Alex.
Following the designation as a suspect, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas filed a pre-trial motion at the South Jakarta District Court on 10 February 2026. However, the court rejected the pre-trial application.
The KPK has seized assets worth more than Rp100 billion belonging to the hajj quota corruption suspects, including millions in US dollars as well as land and buildings.
The KPK’s investigation revealed that the 20,000 additional hajj quotas for 2024 should have been allocated to regular pilgrims who had been waiting 47 years, rather than being diverted. The alleged corruption resulted in a loss to the state of Rp622 billion.