Asrul Azis Taba Ditolak PN Jaksel, KPK Lanjutkan Kasus Korupsi Kuota Haji 

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has ensured that the investigation into the corruption case of determining quotas and organizing the 2023-2024 hajj at the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) will continue. The case file will soon be forwarded to the next stage.

This was conveyed by KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo after the South Jakarta District Court (PN) rejected the pretrial lawsuit filed by the General Chairman of the Association of Unity Tour Travel Haji Umrah of the Republic of Indonesia (Kesthuri) Asrul Azis Taba today, July 6.

"The KPK will continue to investigate professionally, independently, and transparently to uncover the full construction of the case, including tracing the criminal accountability of each party suspected of being involved, while upholding the principle of presumption of innocence and respecting the rights of the parties," Budi told reporters through a written statement. quoted Tuesday, July 7.

"In the near future, investigators will immediately complete the investigation file and immediately transfer it to the prosecution stage or stage II to enter the trial stage," he continued.

Budi on that occasion also appreciated the steps of the PN Jaksel. He emphasized that the decision of the panel of judges proved that the investigation work had been carried out in accordance with the due process of law.

"Through this decision, the court basically assessed that the formal aspects of the investigation, from the determination of suspects to the implementation of coercive measures, have met the provisions of laws and regulations," said Budi.

Then, Budi said the argument about health which was also requested by the Azrul camp did not interfere with the course of the investigation. "Because during the detention the person concerned still has access to adequate health services according to his needs and rights," he said.

As previously reported, the KPK has named four suspects in the alleged corruption case for determining quotas and organizing the 2023-2024 Hajj pilgrimage at the Ministry of Religion. They are former Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, former Special Staff to the Minister of Religion Ishfah Abidal Azis alias Gus Alex, Director of Operations of Maktour Travel Ismail Adhan, and former General Chairman of the Indonesian Republic of Hajj Umrah Travel Union (Kesthuri) Asrul Azis Taba.

The investigation began with the distribution of 20,000 additional Hajj quotas given by the Government of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia in 2023 and 2024. Based on Law Number 8 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of the Hajj and Umrah and the agreement of the Panja Commission VIII of the DPR RI, the additional quota should be divided with a composition of 92 percent for regular Hajj and 8 percent for special Hajj.

However, the KPK suspects that there has been a policy change through the issuance of a Minister of Religious Affairs Decree that divides the additional quota into 50 percent for regular hajj and 50 percent for special hajj. The policy was then implemented by easing the mechanism for filling the special hajj quota, which no longer completely refers to the national order number.

In the process, the KPK suspects that there has been a collection of fees from a number of Special Haji Organizers (PIHK) in exchange for the acceleration of the departure of pilgrims. The collection is said to be imposed on prospective special pilgrims with a maximum of 5,000 US dollars per pilgrim in 2023 and 2,000 to 2,500 US dollars per pilgrim in 2024.

From the results of the investigation, Ismail Adhan allegedly gave Ishfah Abidal Azis 30 thousand US dollars and 5,000 US dollars and 16 thousand Saudi riyals to the then Director General of Haji and Umrah Implementation of the Ministry of Religion, Abdul Latief. This act is suspected of making Maktour obtain an illegal profit of around IDR 27.8 billion.

Meanwhile, Asrul Azis Taba allegedly gave money amounting to 406 thousand US dollars. From this gift, eight PIHKs belonging to Kesthuri are said to have obtained illegal profits of up to Rp. 40.8 billion.

The KPK also suspects that some of the funds from the fee collection were prepared to condition the Special Committee (Pansus) for the DPR RI Hajj, which was formed in mid-2024. However, the alleged delivery was not realized due to the rejection of the party who would receive it.

As a result of the alleged actions of the suspects, the state is estimated to have suffered losses of up to IDR 622 billion. The KPK charged the suspects with Article 2 paragraph (1) and/or Article 3 of the Corruption Law in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.