Response from Yaqut's Side Regarding KPK Seizure of USD 1 Million in Hajj Quota Case

The legal team of former Minister of Religious Affairs (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has responded to the KPK’s statement regarding the seizure of USD 1 million related to the alleged Hajj quota corruption case. Yaqut’s side has dismissed claims about the money. “We affirm that there has never been any receipt of money by our client nor any giving of money by our client, either directly or through intermediaries. If there are certain parties claiming to have received instructions from our client or carried out our client’s instructions regarding this matter, such statements are untrue and must be proven legally,” the response from Yaqut’s legal team stated in a letter received on Monday (27/4/2026). The legal team also mentioned that Yaqut was never asked for confirmation regarding the existence of the money and was never shown the flow of the funds in question. Furthermore, Yaqut’s side stated that the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage arrangements had been audited by the BPK. “The audit results even stated savings of approximately Rp 600 billion,” they said. Previously, the KPK statement in question was delivered by Acting Director of Investigation KPK Achmad Taufik Husein during a press conference at the KPK building in South Jakarta on Monday (13/4). Taufik said the USD 1 million was allegedly given to the Hajj Special Committee through someone with the initials ZA. However, Taufik did not explain who ZA is. “Regarding the USD 1 million that was returned. The fact we found is that there is indeed a witness named ZA who acted as an intermediary for handing over the money to special committee members,” he said. However, he said, the dollar money had not reached the special committee members as initially intended. He found that the money was still with ZA. “And indeed, the suspect, namely YCQ, did not attend the special committee, so this is the fact we found that it is still held by Mr ZA,” he revealed.