Jakarta. A Jakarta court on Wednesday rejected a pretrial motion filed by former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, allowing the anti-graft agency to proceed with its investigation into a corruption case involving the allocation of additional hajj pilgrimage quotas.

Judge Sulistyo Muhammad Dwi Putro of the South Jakarta District Court ruled that the suspect designation issued by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was legally valid and rejected Yaqut’s pretrial petition in its entirety.

The ruling means Yaqut will retain his suspect status as investigators continue probing alleged corruption linked to the distribution of additional hajj quotas for 2024.

The KPK has named Yaqut and his former special staff member, Ishfah Abidal Aziz, as suspects in the case.

The case centers on the allocation of an extra 20,000 hajj quotas granted to Indonesia by Saudi Arabia in 2024 after diplomatic lobbying by then-President Joko Widodo. The additional slots were intended to reduce Indonesia’s long waiting list for regular pilgrims, which in some regions exceeds 20 years.

Before the increase, Indonesia’s hajj quota stood at 221,000 pilgrims. The additional allocation raised the total to 241,000.

Investigators allege that the extra quota was split evenly between regular and special hajj — 10,000 slots each — instead of prioritizing regular pilgrims. The policy sparked controversy because Indonesia’s Hajj and Umrah Law limits special hajj quotas to a maximum of 8% of the national total.

In practice, Indonesia allocated 213,320 seats for regular hajj and 27,680 for special hajj in 2024, figures the KPK believes exceeded the legal threshold. Investigators say the decision deprived at least 8,400 long-waiting regular pilgrims of the opportunity to depart for Mecca that year.

The KPK estimates preliminary state losses from the alleged scheme at around Rp 1 trillion (about $64 million), though the figure could increase as the investigation progresses.

Authorities have also seized assets suspected to be linked to the case, including properties, luxury vehicles, and cash in foreign currencies.

The commission suspects collusion between officials at the Religious Affairs Ministry and hajj travel operators through Ministerial Decree No. 130/2024, which authorized the 50:50 quota split.

Through his lawyer, Mellisa Anggraini, Yaqut said he respects the legal process and will continue to cooperate with investigators.

Both Yaqut and Ishfah have been charged under Articles 2 and 3 of Indonesia’s Anti-Corruption Law, which cover abuse of authority resulting in state losses.