Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as a suspect in an alleged corruption case involving the allocation of the 2024 hajj quota.
KPK Vice Chair Fitroh Rohcahyanto confirmed the decision on Friday, January 9, 2026. "It's true," Fitroh said in a brief message.
KPK investigators are currently tracing the flow of funds linked to the alleged misuse of additional hajj quotas. Authorities suspect that illicit payments originating from Special Hajj Pilgrimage Organizers (PIHK), or private hajj travel agencies, were funneled into the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo said the funds stemmed from the management of extra hajj quotas allegedly traded between ministry officials and private travel operators.
"The money flow comes from PIHK or hajj travel agencies," Budi said at the KPK's Red and White Building in South Jakarta on December 16, 2025.
After being questioned by investigators, Yaqut declined to comment on the substance of the case.
"I have provided information to the investigators. For details, please ask them directly," he said following the examination.
Yaqut's lawyer, Mellissa Anggraini, denied that her client had been questioned as a suspect at the time, saying he was examined in the capacity of a witness.
"As a witness, yes," she said.
However, KPK Acting Deputy for Enforcement and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu stated earlier that investigators believe corrupt funds reached senior leadership within the ministry.
"If it is within the ministry, ultimately it leads to the minister," Asep said in September 2025.
KPK has coordinated with Indonesia's Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to trace the movement of funds.
"The transactions are recorded, so we can follow the money wherever it goes," Asep said.
Investigators allege the scheme involved a hierarchical distribution of illicit payments, from lower-level intermediaries up to top officials, including relatives and advisers. KPK also claims that each level within the ministry received a share of the proceeds.
As part of the investigation, KPK has begun tracing and seizing assets linked to the alleged corruption. Two houses owned by officials from the Ministry's Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah have been confiscated, with a combined value of approximately Rp6.5 billion, or about US$420,000.