Jakarta – Prominent cleric Ustaz Khalid Basalamah underwent an eight-hour examination Tuesday by Indonesia’s Corruption eradication Commission (KPK) as a witness in the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the 2024 Hajj quota. Basalamah stated he and a group of pilgrims were victims of a visa scheme involving PT Muhibbah, a travel agency.
The case centers on allegations of irregularities in the allocation of Hajj pilgrimage quotas and potential fraud related to travel arrangements. The KPK is investigating whether pilgrims were offered-or pressured into-transferring their visas through different travel agencies, possibly disrupting the official Hajj process and leading to financial losses for those involved. This investigation comes amid heightened scrutiny of Hajj travel agencies and the government’s management of the annual pilgrimage.
According to Basalamah,he and 122 other prospective pilgrims initially registered with Furoda travel but were later approached by Ibnu Mas’ud,owner of PT Muhibbah from Pekanbaru,who offered them visas. “So I was in the same position with the Furoda congregation, then we already paid Furoda ready to leave Furoda, but there was a person named Ibnu Mas’ud who owns PT Muhibbah from Pekanbaru, offering us this visa, so we finally joined the visa at his travel,” Basalamah said after the questioning at the KPK Building in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
Basalamah, who also owns PT Zahra Oto Mandiri (Uhud Tour), emphasized his group’s status as victims of a visa replacement offer. “Our position is the victim of PT muhibbah, owned by Ibnu Mas’ud. We were all Furoda. It was offered to move using this visa,” he stated.
This examination fulfills a KPK summons initially scheduled for September 2, 2025, which Basalamah previously missed. KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo explained that investigators sought Basalamah’s testimony as a key fact witness due to his role as the owner of a hajj travel agency. “Witnesses as the owner of the pilgrimage travel, meaning as a fact witness, so of course his statement is needed to reveal and make the light of this case,” Prasetyo said.
Basalamah was previously questioned by the KPK on June 23, 2025, during the initial investigation phase.