Yaqut Cholil Qoumas Placed Under House Arrest, MAKI Reports KPK Leadership to Supervisory Board
Coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI), Boyamin Saiman, has officially reported the KPK’s leadership, investigators, and spokesperson to the Supervisory Board (Dewas) on Wednesday (25/3). This follows the decision to place the suspect in the Hajj quota corruption case, former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, under house arrest.
Boyamin outlined nine crucial points in his report, including allegations that the KPK leadership allowed external interference in the process of changing the detention status.
“The KPK leadership is suspected of permitting external interference in the KPK and failing to report it to the Dewas. This refers to the jurisprudence in the dismissal of Anwar Usman at the Constitutional Court for allowing external interference in case number 90,” Boyamin stated after submitting the report letter on Wednesday (25/3/2026).
Boyamin highlighted discrepancies in information between KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo and Deputy for Enforcement Asep Guntur Rahayu. He criticised the KPK for conducting a secretive process in releasing Yaqut from the detention centre two days before Eid, under the pretext of additional examinations.
“The spokesperson said YCQ was healthy when transferred, but the Deputy for Enforcement said he had GERD and asthma. This is contradictory. Even Mr Asep Guntur is suspected of ordering the transfer without prior health checks from a competent doctor,” he emphasised.
Boyamin also pointed out that the revelation of the house arrest status was initiated by information from the family of Immanuel Ebenezer and media suspicions, rather than KPK transparency. He deemed this a violation of public information disclosure principles.
Boyamin suspects the detention transfer was not decided collectively by the KPK leadership, rendering it legally flawed and in breach of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and ethical codes.
“There are allegations of special treatment. The transfer to house arrest without strong objective reasons diminishes public trust in the KPK as the frontline in eradicating corruption,” Boyamin said.
Boyamin requested the KPK Supervisory Board to conduct an ethical examination of the leadership and investigators involved in the detention transfer decision. He also asked the Board to assess whether the decision upholds the principle of equality before the law. Furthermore, he urged the Board to transparently convey the examination results to the public to restore public trust.
“The letter has been submitted, and hopefully, from every report aimed at safeguarding the KPK, there will be adequate follow-up to restore public trust,” he concluded. (H-4)