Yaqut's Lawyer: State Loss in Hajj Quota Case Had Not Been Established by BPK at Time of Indictment

Legal counsel for former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has argued that state losses in the alleged corruption over the 2023-2024 additional Hajj quota have not been determined by the Audit Board (BPK) at the time her client was named a suspect. Melissa Anggraeni, the counsel, read her reply to the KPK’s response at the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, 4 March. She said that in corruption cases, the loss of state funds is a crucial element that must be proven real and definite before a person is charged. She noted that as of 8 January 2026, there is no evidence showing a clear calculation of state losses related to the case. ‘There is not a single piece of evidence up to 8 January 2026 showing the calculation of state financial losses, including the amount, origin or consequence of such losses,’ she said. The losses must be proven through an investigative audit conducted by the competent body, namely the BPK. ‘Because Articles 2 and 3 of the Anti-Corruption Law (UU Tipikor) have been interpreted as material offences through Constitutional Court Decision MK 25/2016, the element of state loss must be real,’ she added. Anggraeni emphasised that to date there has been no clear audit report of the losses, including no date stated in the audit results. Moreover, she highlighted KPK statements in the media that the calculation of state losses is still under in-depth examination. This was considered as an indirect admission that the evidence does not yet exist when investigations began. ‘In other words, there has never been a statement letter of the audit results by the authorised financial auditing institution,’ she claimed. Therefore, the defence regarded the indictment against Yaqut as not meeting the sufficiency of evidence required by the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP). ‘Thus, at the time of the indictment, relevant evidence regarding the state element did not exist.’ The pretrial hearing tests the legality of the indictment against Yaqut Cholil Qoumas by the KPK. In their petition, the applicants asked the judge to declare the indictment against Yaqut invalid and without binding legal force. Previously, the KPK had stated that state losses in the case of the additional Hajj quota for 2023-2024 with Yaqut as a suspect reached Rp622 billion. In its reply, the KPK stated that the indictment of Gus Yaqut was in accordance with legal procedures because it had met the minimal requirement of two admissible pieces of evidence. More than 40 people had also been questioned according to the Minutes of Request for Information (Berita Acara Permintaan Keterangan) in Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’s name. The presiding judge, Sulistyo, warned both Yaqut’s and KPK’s sides not to engage in transactional practices in the praperadilan hearing. Yaqut’s legal team argued the indictment is administratively defective and violates KUHAP. The former Minister of Religious Affairs, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, is challenging his status through a praperadilan before PN Jaksel. His lawyers highlighted irregularities in summons procedures. The hearing in the praperadilan for former Minister Yaqut at PN Jakarta Selatan was postponed after KPK was absent and said it was still preparing response documents. The KPK disclosed the results of the BPK audit in the Yaqut praperadilan hearing. State losses in the Hajj quota corruption case total Rp622 billion, supported by 200 documents.