Indonesia Corruption Watch on Friday demanded an investigation into allegations that the Ministry of Religious Affairs inflated hajj fees during the tenure of former minister Maftuh Basyuni.

"The hajj season is coming, there is talk of increasing the fee, and yet the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] still needs to follow up on the allegations from our previous report," said Ade Irawan, an ICW project coordinator, after meeting with leaders of the antigraft body. "The KPK also needs to issue a reminder to the ministry regarding past misappropriations."

Every year, thousands of people register with the ministry for the pilgrimage. To get their names on the list, would-be pilgrims must pay the hajj fee up front, even though it can be years before they are sent to Saudi Arabia. The fee was previously Rp 20 million ($2,200), but was raised to Rp 25 million last year. The fees are deposited in the ministry's accounts at state-owned banks.

Firdaus Ilyas, ICW's budget coordinator, said the organization estimated the ministry could be sitting on as much as Rp 27 trillion in deposits. "Based on our calculations, the cost of last year's hajj was only $500 per pilgrim," he said.

In 2006, former Religious Affairs Minister Said Agil Hussein Al Munawar was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling more than Rp 75 billion in hajj funds between 2001 and 2004.