JAKARTA — An Indonesian anti-corruption court said former Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim abused his authority in the multitrillion-rupiah Chromebook procurement case, citing the scale of the state’s financial losses, the systematic nature of the scheme and its impact on students in remote regions as key reasons for imposing a 10-year prison sentence.
The panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court outlined several aggravating and mitigating factors before delivering its verdict Tuesday, concluding that Nadiem’s actions justified a substantial prison term despite his previous public contributions.
Presiding Judge Purwanto Abdullah said the court had considered the circumstances in accordance with Indonesia’s new Criminal Code before determining the sentence.
According to the ruling, one of the principal aggravating factors was that the offenses contradicted the government’s and society’s ongoing commitment to combating corruption. The judges also found that Nadiem, as a cabinet minister, should have served as a public role model instead of abusing the authority entrusted to him.
The court further concluded that the corruption scheme had been carried out in a planned, structured and systematic manner, causing state financial losses estimated at 1.56 trillion rupiah while undermining the delivery of education, particularly for students in Indonesia’s frontier, outermost and underdeveloped regions.
Another factor weighing against the former minister was his personal financial situation. The judges said Nadiem was financially well-off and therefore had no economic necessity that could explain or justify the commission of the offenses.
“The defendant’s financial condition was already highly sufficient, leaving no economic motive that could have driven these criminal acts,” Purwanto said while reading the judgment.
Despite those findings, the panel acknowledged several mitigating circumstances.
The court noted that Nadiem had no previous criminal convictions, behaved respectfully and cooperated throughout the trial. Judges also recognized that before entering government he had built a reputation as an entrepreneur who contributed to innovation in Indonesia’s education and technology sectors.
Earlier in the hearing, the court convicted Nadiem of corruption linked to the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management licenses under the Education Ministry’s digital education program between 2019 and 2022.
In addition to the 10-year prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of 1 billion rupiah, with a substitute prison term of 190 days if unpaid, and ordered Nadiem to repay approximately 809.59 billion rupiah obtained through proceeds the court determined originated from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa via PT Gojek Indonesia.
The ruling stated that much of the funding received by the company originated from a Google investment valued at approximately $786.99 million.
Judges found that Nadiem had abused his authority by approving procurement processes for Chromebook devices and related digital management systems that failed to comply with procurement planning and public procurement principles.
The court also determined that the offenses were committed in coordination with several other defendants who have already been convicted in separate proceedings, including Ibrahim Arief, Mulyatsyah and Sri Wahyuningsih, while another suspect, Jurist Tan, remains a fugitive.
The conviction was handed down under Indonesia’s anti-corruption law, with the court finding that prosecutors had successfully proven the primary charge of abuse of authority causing state financial losses.
