Yaqut's Legal Team Reveals Procedural Flaws in Hajj Quota Corruption Investigation

The legal team of former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has revealed what it claims are numerous procedural errors committed by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in its investigation of the alleged corruption surrounding additional hajj quotas.

Lawyer Mellisa Anggraini said the findings prompted Yaqut to exercise his right as a suspect to file a pretrial motion at the South Jakarta District Court to challenge the KPK’s law enforcement procedures.

“We have more than three points, among them the fact that they used articles from the Anti-Corruption Law — Articles 2 and 3 — which have been repealed and are no longer in force, having been replaced by provisions in the new Criminal Code,” Mellisa said at the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday (24 February).

“Yet they made no reference whatsoever to the new provisions. So, from a procedural standpoint, we see a great many errors and defects, and we believe we have the right to challenge them in these proceedings,” she added.

Mellisa declined to elaborate on the specific formal defects in the three Investigation Warrants (Sprindik) issued by the KPK that formed the basis for designating her client as a suspect. She said the details would be presented at the hearing for the reading of the petition, scheduled for Tuesday, 3 March.

“The details will come out at the hearing. The key point is that we learned of these three Investigation Warrants from a notification letter. We never received a suspect designation letter containing our client’s rights, a description of the case, or an explanation of what actions linked him to the case warranting his designation as a suspect — we never received any of that,” Mellisa explained.

“From that point, we discovered there were actually three Investigation Warrants, whereas we had only ever been examined under the initial, general Investigation Warrant,” she continued.

In the petition, Yaqut has asked sole presiding judge Sulistyo Muhammad Dwi Putro of the South Jakarta District Court to annul the three Investigation Warrants used by the KPK as the basis for processing him as a suspect in the alleged additional hajj quota corruption case.

The three documents in question are: Letter Number Sprin.Dik/61/DIK.00/01/08/2025 dated 8 August 2025; Letter Number Sprin.Dik/61A.2025/DIK.00/01/11/2025 dated 21 November 2025; and Letter Number Sprin.Dik/01/Dik.00/01/01/2026 dated 8 January 2026.

This constitutes one of the key points in the relief sought by Yaqut in his pretrial petition, as confirmed by the South Jakarta District Court spokesperson Rio Barten.

“We fully respect the fact that they [the KPK] have the right not to appear today, but we will certainly ensure that the process going forward is conducted properly and transparently. We have very high expectations of the sole judge hearing this case to examine it clearly and procedurally, given how significant it is that the new Criminal Procedure Code now classifies suspect designation as a coercive measure,” Mellisa said.

Yaqut, along with his special staff member Ishfah Abidal Aziz, also known as Gus Alex, was designated by the KPK as a suspect in the alleged additional hajj quota corruption case. However, neither has been detained.

The KPK has nonetheless requested the Directorate General of Immigration to reimpose a travel ban on Yaqut and Ishfah for six months, until 12 August 2026.

During the ongoing investigation, the KPK has searched a number of locations including Yaqut’s residence in Condet, East Jakarta; the offices of a hajj and umrah travel agency in Jakarta; the home of a Religious Affairs Ministry civil servant in Depok; and offices of the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Operations at the Religious Affairs Ministry.

A substantial volume of evidence allegedly connected to the case has been seized, including documents, electronic evidence, a four-wheeled vehicle, and property.

According to the KPK’s preliminary calculations, the case is suspected to have caused state financial losses exceeding Rp1 trillion. The KPK is still awaiting the final audit being conducted by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).