Jakarta. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday night detained former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as a suspect in an alleged corruption case related to the management of Hajj pilgrimages for the 2023–2024 period.

Yaqut, wearing an orange detainee vest and handcuffs, was escorted to a detention facility after being questioned as a suspect at the KPK headquarters in South Jakarta.

“KPK has detained suspect YCQ for an initial 20-day period from March 12 to March 31, 2026,” KPK Deputy for Enforcement Asep Guntur Rahayu said during a press conference.

A second suspect in the case is Yaqut’s former special staff member, Ishfah Abidal Aziz, also known as Gus Alex.

Investigators allege that Yaqut accepted bribes from Hajj travel agencies in exchange for granting them departure quotas. Indonesia receives an annual Hajj quota of around 220,000 pilgrims from the Saudi Arabian government, while the waiting list for prospective pilgrims runs into the tens of millions.

Under normal procedures, a person registering today may wait up to a decade before being able to perform the pilgrimage.

Yaqut denied receiving any money in connection with the case.

“I never received a single rupiah from the allegations made against me. All the policies I implemented were solely for the benefit of the pilgrims,” Yaqut told reporters.

According to the KPK, the alleged corruption stems from the allocation of additional Hajj quotas that did not follow legal provisions requiring 92% to be assigned to regular Hajj pilgrims and 8% to special Hajj services.

In 2024, the government received an additional quota of 20,000 pilgrims. Instead of following the mandated allocation, the quotas were split evenly—50% for regular Hajj and 50% for special Hajj—allegedly on Yaqut’s orders.

Travel agencies that benefited from the revised allocation are suspected of making payments to officials within the Religious Affairs Ministry.

State auditors estimate the total financial losses to the government from the case at Rp 622 billion ($36.8 million).