Former NU leader Gus Yahya attends trial over Yaqut’s hajj quota case

Yahya Cholil Staquf, the former chairman of Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama organization, appeared at the trial involving his brother, former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.

Yahya arrived at 5:47 p.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 3, while the hearing had been suspended for prayer. He did not speak to reporters and appeared to follow Yaqut as officials took the former minister to the courthouse detention area.

The Corruption Eradication Commission presented four witnesses before the panel of judges. Three came from the Religious Affairs Ministry: former director of hajj and umrah affairs Jaja Jaelani, former head of the ministry’s legal and foreign cooperation bureau Ahmad Bahiej, and bureau staff member Deni Sefianto. The fourth witness, Nur Faidzin, also known as Nanang, works for Pesona Mozaik travel agency.

Four people are being prosecuted in the alleged corruption case over additional hajj quotas for 2023-2024. They are Yaqut, his special staff member Ishfah Abidal Azis, also known as Gus Alex, Maktour operational director Ismail Adham, and Asrul Azis Taba, chairman of the Kesthuri association and commissioner of PT Raudah Eksati Utama.

An investigative audit by Indonesia’s Audit Board put the alleged state losses at Rp622,090,207,166.41, or about Rp622 billion. Prosecutors also allege that the scheme enriched other parties, including 313 organizers of special hajj pilgrimages.