Yaqut Denies Receiving Rp4.8 Billion in Hajj Quota Corruption Case

Former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, a defendant in a hajj quota corruption case, has denied receiving any money from the scheme. He stated that the allegation he received 271,500 US dollars, or approximately Rp4.83 billion, was merely an assumption. ‘I have never received a single rupiah from this process,’ Yaqut told reporters at the Corruption Court in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, 11 August 2026. He argued that the fees for hajj departures without a waiting period were managed by the Special Hajj Organisers (PIHK), and suggested those parties should be the ones brought before the court. His lawyer, Dodi Abdul Kadir, questioned the lack of detail in the indictment regarding how the money was supposedly obtained, transferred, or handed over, suggesting the charge was simply an attempt to link Yaqut to the practice of fee-based acceleration.