JAKARTA — Indonesia’s anti-corruption court on Tuesday sentenced former Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of corruption linked to the government’s Chromebook and Chrome Device Management procurement program.
The panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court ruled that Nadiem had abused his authority in the procurement of information and communications technology learning equipment during the 2020, 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, causing state losses estimated at Rp1.56 trillion.
Presiding Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah said the court found Nadiem guilty under Article 3 of Indonesia’s Anti-Corruption Law in conjunction with Article 604 of the Criminal Code, concluding that he committed the offense jointly with other defendants.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of Rp1 billion. Failure to pay the fine would result in an additional 190 days of imprisonment.
The judges also ordered Nadiem to pay Rp809 billion in restitution after determining that he had received Rp809.59 billion originating from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa through PT Gojek Indonesia.
According to the court, much of the funding received by PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa was derived from a Google investment valued at approximately $786.99 million.
The ruling stated that the Chromebook and Chrome Device Management procurement failed to comply with proper planning procedures and public procurement principles, resulting in substantial financial losses for the state.
The court found that Nadiem committed the offenses together with several other individuals, including Ibrahim Arief, Mulyatsyah and Sri Wahyuningsih, who had previously been convicted in separate proceedings. Another suspect, Jurist Tan, remains a fugitive.
The sentence was significantly lighter than prosecutors had requested.
State prosecutors had sought an 18-year prison term, a Rp1 billion fine with a substitute prison sentence of 190 days, and restitution totaling Rp5.68 trillion, consisting of Rp809.596 billion and an additional Rp4.871 trillion.
In explaining the sentence, the judges cited several aggravating factors, including what they described as a planned, structured and systematic abuse of authority that inflicted enormous financial losses on the state and undermined educational services, particularly for children living in Indonesia’s remote, frontier and underdeveloped regions.
The court also considered Nadiem’s personal financial condition as an aggravating circumstance, concluding that he had no economic necessity that could have motivated the corruption.
“The defendant’s financial condition is more than sufficient, so there was no economic pressure that encouraged these actions,” Presiding Judge Purwanto said while reading the verdict.
As mitigating factors, the judges noted that Nadiem had no previous criminal convictions and acknowledged his record of contributing to the country before entering government service.
Nevertheless, the panel concluded that those considerations did not outweigh the seriousness of the offense.
“As a minister, the defendant should have served as a role model, yet instead abused the authority entrusted to him,” the presiding judge said.
The verdict represents one of Indonesia’s highest-profile corruption convictions involving a former Cabinet minister in recent years and concludes a closely watched trial centered on one of the country’s largest education technology procurement programs.
