Mecca Pilgrimages: Ex-minister investigated for corruption

by Mathias Hariyadi

Yaqut Cholil Qoumas and an associate are under investigation for the management of additional quotas granted to Indonesia for the 2024 Hajj. They allegedly favoured special pilgrims at the expense of regular ones, causing estimated state losses of million. Assets have been seized and potential illicit flows are under investigation.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has officially named former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as a suspect in an alleged corruption case involving the allocation of additional quotas for the Hajj pilgrimage in 2024.

The KPK has also named Yaqut's former special assistant, Ishfah Abidal Aziz, as a suspect in the same case. ‘The letters of investigation notification have been formally delivered. Further measures, including summons and potential detention, will be announced at a later date,’ said KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo, according to Indonesian media.

The KPK explains that the case revolves around the distribution of 20,000 additional quotas for the Hajj - the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca - granted to Indonesia by Saudi Arabia in 2024, following diplomatic efforts by then-President Joko Widodo.

The extra quotas were intended to shorten the waiting list, which is notoriously long in Indonesia, exceeding 20 years in some regions. The quota for Indonesian pilgrims was 221,000, rising to 241,000 after the additional allocation.

However, KPK investigators claim that the additional quota was divided equally between regular pilgrims (10,000) and special pilgrims (10,000), instead of giving priority to the former.

The policy has sparked controversy as it allegedly violated Law No. 8/2019 on the administration of Hajj and Umrah, which limits special Hajj quotas to a maximum of 8% of the total national quota. Based on the 2024 quota, the special Hajj allocation should not have exceeded this legal threshold.

The KPK noted that, in practice, Indonesia allocated 213,320 places for regular Hajj and 27,680 for special Hajj in 2024, figures which investigators said exceeded the permitted limit. As a result, at least 8,400 regular pilgrims, some of whom had waited more than 14 years, would have lost the opportunity to travel to Mecca that year.

The anti-corruption agency estimates that the preliminary losses to the state from the alleged scheme amount to approximately 1 trillion rupees (approximately £56 million), although the figure may increase as the investigation continues. The KPK has seized several assets, including real estate, luxury vehicles and cash in various foreign currencies, which are believed to be linked to the case.

Investigators suspect collusion between officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and tour operators specialising in pilgrimages to Mecca, allegedly formalised through Ministerial Decree No. 130/2024, which authorised the 50% allocation of the additional quota. The KPK is also investigating potential illicit financial flows linked to the decree.

Through his lawyer Mellisa Anggraini, Yaqut has stated that he respects the legal process and wants to continue cooperating with investigators. ‘Our client has complied transparently with all summonses and procedures from the outset,’ she said.

Both Yaqut and Ishfah have been charged under Articles 2 and 3 of the Anti-Corruption Law, on abuse of power resulting in losses to the state. The KPK has stated that the investigation is still ongoing and may extend to other parties.