Sprindik Value Expert Determination of Suspect Yaqut Defective Procedure

Continuation of the pre-trial hearing of former Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas

JAKARTA - Criminal law expert Mahrus Ali questioned the investigation order (sprindik) for the corruption case on the haj quota that ensnared former Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. Mahrus assessed that the KPK-issued sprindik was flawed in procedure.

"If it is then mentioned that there are two different sprindik years, it becomes unclear. This means that there is actually a procedural defect," said Mahrus when he was an expert witness in the pretrial hearing of Yaqut at the South Jakarta District Court, Thursday, March 5.

Mahrus explained that the time of issuance of the sprindik was important because it was used to determine whether to use the old or the new KUHAP. He said, if the sprindik that became the basis for the Yaqut investigation was issued after January 2, 2026, then the handling of the case would use the new KUHAP.

"It is clear (Article) 361 letter A states, if the investigation process has been carried out, if the investigation process is underway, use the old KUHAP. What does it mean? He does not need to use the new sprindik, he continued.

It is known that in the pre-trial hearing of Yaqut yesterday, it was revealed that the KPK issued three sprindik related to the 2023-2024 Hajj quota corruption case. Two sprindik were issued in August and November 2025, another was issued on January 8, 2026.

The Sprindik which was issued on January 8 was then used as a basis by the KPK to name Yaqut as a suspect in the 2023-2024 Hajj quota corruption case.

"That from the Letter of Notification of Determination of Suspects submitted by the Respondent on Friday, January 9, 2026, the Determination of the Suspect against the Applicant has been carried out on January 8, 2026. However, until the date of this Pre-trial Application, the Applicant has not received the Letter of Determination of the Suspect as required by the provisions of Article 90 paragraph (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code," said Yaqut's lawyer, Mellisa Anggraeni in a hearing at the South Jakarta District Court, yesterday.