KPK states that Yaqut allocated additional 20,000 pilgrimage quotas for 2024 in accordance with law
Jakarta — The Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has stated that former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas allocated an additional 20,000 pilgrimage (hajj) quotas for the year 2024 in accordance with Law Number 8 of 2019 concerning the implementation of hajj and umrah pilgrimages.
Article 64 of the law stipulates that additional hajj quotas are divided into 92 percent for regular hajj and 8 percent for special hajj.
“In the working meeting of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, the Religious Affairs Minister reported that there were additional hajj quotas for 2024 totalling 20,000, which would be divided into 92 percent for regular hajj, totalling 18,400, and 8 percent for special hajj, totalling 1,600,” said Deputy for Prosecution and Execution at the KPK Asep Guntur Rahayu during a press conference on Friday.
Asep explained that the meeting took place in early November 2023 when Yaqut was still serving as Religious Affairs Minister. The meeting agenda concerned the financial accountability report for the operational costs of hajj implementation in 2023, as well as the Religious Affairs Minister’s report on Indonesia’s additional hajj quota for 2024.
The total quota of 241,000 was divided into 92 percent regular hajj or 221,720, and 8 percent special hajj or 19,280.
He also stated that Presidential Decree Number 6 of 2024, issued on 9 January 2024 and concerning the costs of hajj implementation, still contained the benefit values in accordance with the working meeting between Commission VIII of the House of Representatives and the Religious Affairs Ministry in November 2023.
Nevertheless, he said that Yaqut divided the additional 20,000 hajj quotas into 50 percent equally for both regular and special hajj. Yaqut allocated the 20,000 additional hajj quotas in Religious Affairs Ministry Decree Number 130 of 2024.
Previously, on 9 August 2025, the KPK announced it had begun investigating alleged corruption relating to pilgrimage quotas for Indonesia in 2023–2024. On 11 August 2025, the KPK announced initial calculations of state financial loss in the case exceeded Rp1 trillion, and prevented three individuals from travelling abroad for up to six months. On 9 January 2026, the KPK announced that two of the three individuals who were prevented from travelling became suspects in the alleged hajj quota corruption case: Yaqut and Gus Alex.
However, Yaqut filed a request for legal review of the suspect designation with the South Jakarta District Court on 10 February 2026, registered as case number 19/Pid.Pra/2026/PN JKT.SEL. On 19 February 2026, the KPK announced the extension of travel prevention orders for only Yaqut and Gus Alex, whilst Fuad was not extended. On 27 February 2026, the KPK announced it had received an audit from the State Audit Board (BPK) regarding state financial losses resulting from the hajj quota case. Subsequently, on 4 March 2026, the KPK announced that state financial loss from the case reached Rp622 billion.
On 11 March 2026, the judges of the South Jakarta District Court rejected Yaqut’s legal review request. On 12 March 2026, the KPK detained Yaqut at the State Detention Centre of the Red and White Building branch of the KPK.