Khalid Basalamah's Confession That Departed The Furoda Congregation But Turned Into A Special Hajj In The KPK

KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo/PHOTO: Wardhany Tsa Tsia-VOI

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) revealed a number of things that investigators investigated when examining the preacher who is also the owner of Uhud Tour, Khalid Zeed Abdullah or Khalid Basalamah on Tuesday, September 9.

Among them, the shift in Hajj visas for pilgrims from furoda to special Hajj whose quota turned out to be problematic.

Khalid Basalamah was then examined by investigators as a witness to the facts of alleged corruption in quotas and the implementation of Hajj in 2023-2024 at the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag).

"The confession from the person concerned is also related to initially using a furoda and then shifting to special Hajj, well, it is also explored including the acquisition of the quota, whether from the travel agency or using other travel agencies," said KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo to reporters quoted on Friday, September 12.

In addition, investigators are also exploring whether or not there is an additional hajj quota enjoyed by Uhud Tour. Budi said Khalid's statement was needed to prove the sale and purchase of special hajj quotas.

The sale and purchase of the quota began when Indonesia received an additional 20,000 quotas from the government of Saudi Arabia. This gift aims to break down the queues of pilgrims.

"Well, that's also part of the sale and purchase of quotas that are the investigative material investigated by investigators," he said.

Budi also explained that a similar investigation into the sale and purchase of hajj quotas was carried out on a number of parties. For example, the association of travel agents or travel agents as well as travel agents for special Hajj organizers.

"Because indeed in organizing this pilgrimage, there are associations that oversee travel agencies, including the planning, why did plot for this travel agency get that much, this one, now that is also the one being investigated," explained Budi.

Previously reported, the KPK has issued a general investigation warrant (sprindik) for alleged corruption in the addition of quotas and the implementation of Hajj in 2023-2024. This institution reasoned that the issuance was carried out so that they could make forced efforts.

The general Sprindik uses Article 2 Paragraph 1 and/or Article 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law Number 20 of 2021 in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. This means that there are state losses that occur due to this corrupt practice.

State losses in the corruption case of quota and Hajj for the period 2023-2024 are said to have reached more than IDR 1 trillion. This amount is still increasing because it is only the initial calculation of the KPK which continues to coordinate with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

This case began with the provision of 20,000 additional Hajj quotas from the Saudi Arabian government for Indonesia to reduce queues for pilgrims. However, the distribution turned out to be problematic because it was divided equally, namely 50 percent for regular Hajj and 50 percent for special Hajj.

In fact, based on the law, the distribution should be 92 percent for regular Hajj and 8 percent for special Hajj.

Later, the distribution of problems was allegedly due to money from the Hajj and Umrah travel parties as well as the associations that oversee the Ministry of Religion. After getting the allotment, they sold the additional quota to prospective pilgrims.