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Hajj quota trial: ‘Pirate’ was entrusted with $406,000 for Yaqut’s staffer
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Crime & Justice

Hajj quota trial: ‘Pirate’ was entrusted with $406,000 for Yaqut’s staffer

From CNN Indonesia · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Prosecutors from Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission questioned former Nahdlatul Ulama staffer Syaiful Bahri in the alleged hajj quota corruption case.
  • Bahri testified that Asrul Azis Taba entrusted him with $406,000 intended for Ishfah Abidal Azis, a staffer to former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
  • Bahri said Ishfah knew about the money but asked him to keep it while seeking a way to return it.

A witness in Indonesia’s alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quotas testified that he kept $406,000 after receiving it for a former religious affairs minister’s staffer.

Syaiful Bahri, a former staff member of Nahdlatul Ulama, appeared before the Corruption Court in Jakarta. Prosecutors also confirmed his nickname, “Pirate,” during the hearing.

I thought there were a lot of items, so I opened the car trunk. I thought there were books being delivered for Gus Alex. Then I said, ‘Why is there so little?’ They said there were many items. So I opened it, and there was a note saying US$406,000.

— Syaiful BahriBahri described discovering the cash he had been asked to deliver.

Bahri said Asrul Azis Taba, chairman of the Association of Hajj and Umrah Travel Organizers and a commissioner at PT Raudah Eksati Utama, had entrusted him with the money. It was intended for Ishfah Abidal Azis, known as Gus Alex, who served as a special staffer to former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas during 2019-2024.

Just hold it for now.

— Ishfah Abidal AzisBahri said Ishfah gave this instruction after being told about the money.

Bahri recalled being contacted on WhatsApp and told that something had been left for Ishfah. He went to an office in Mampang, South Jakarta, expecting a package that might include documents, books or souvenirs. Instead, he found a note marked “US$406,000” in his car’s trunk.

He said he informed Ishfah, but the money was not accepted. “Just hold it for now,” Ishfah told him, according to Bahri. Bahri testified that he continued keeping the money while Ishfah looked for a way to return it.

It took a very long time because he was looking for a way to return it.

— Syaiful BahriBahri explained why he continued holding the money.
About this summary

Originally published by CNN Indonesia in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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