Teknowarta – Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek) Nadiem Makarim is facing a demand for an 18-year prison sentence from the Public Prosecutor (JPU) at the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung). Prosecutors firmly believe that Nadiem has been proven guilty in the alleged corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology’s jurisdiction.
“To impose a penalty on the defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim, therefore, with a prison sentence of 18 years, reduced by the time the defendant has been in temporary detention, with the order for the defendant to be immediately confined in a state detention facility,” stated Prosecutor Roy Riady as he read the detailed indictment at the Corruption Crime Court (Tipikor) at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, May 13.
Beyond the substantial prison term, Nadiem is also mandated to pay a fine of Rp 1 billion, which carries a subsidiary sentence of 190 days of imprisonment should he fail to comply. Furthermore, prosecutors are seeking significant restitution from Nadiem, totaling Rp 809,566,125,000 and an additional Rp 4,871,469,603,758. These astronomical figures are deemed by the prosecution to represent illicit wealth or proceeds directly derived from the corrupt acts.
The indictment specifies that if these restitution payments are not fulfilled within one month after the verdict achieves permanent legal force, Nadiem’s assets will be seized and subsequently auctioned by the state. “In the event the defendant does not possess sufficient assets to cover these obligations, the unpaid amount will be substituted with an additional prison sentence of 9 years,” the prosecutor emphasized, underscoring the severity of the financial penalties.
In presenting their demanding sentence, prosecutors meticulously outlined both aggravating and mitigating factors. The aggravating circumstances highlight that Nadiem’s actions are perceived as directly undermining the government’s steadfast commitment to fostering a clean administration, one free from corruption, collusion, and nepotism. Crucially, the defendant’s involvement in criminal acts of corruption within the vital education sector has severely impeded the quality and equitable distribution of education for children across Indonesia, impacting a critical national program.
The prosecutor unequivocally stated, “The defendant’s actions, perpetrated in concert with Ibrahim Arief, Sri Wahyuningsih, Mulyatsyah, and Jusristan, have inflicted substantial financial losses upon the state, amounting to a staggering Rp 1,597,888,662,719.74.” This sum primarily relates to the Chromebook procurement. Additionally, the state incurred significant financial losses from the procurement of unnecessary and unbeneficial cloud device management (CDM), calculated at USD 44,054,426, or at least Rp 621,387,368,770. This latter figure was determined based on the lowest exchange rate of Rp 14,105 per United States dollar recorded between August 2020 and December 2022.
Conversely, the sole mitigating factor taken into consideration was Nadiem Makarim’s clean criminal record, indicating he has no prior convictions. Nadiem is accused of violating Article 2 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, juncto Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning Amendments to Law Number 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, juncto Appendix 3 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code (KUHP), and juncto Article 20 C juncto Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code.
Summary
Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim faces a demand for an 18-year prison sentence from the Public Prosecutor. He is accused of corruption in the procurement of Chromebook laptops within his ministry. Prosecutors are also seeking a Rp 1 billion fine and substantial restitution totaling Rp 809.5 billion plus an additional Rp 4.871 trillion.
Should Nadiem fail to pay the restitution within one month, his assets will be seized or he will face an additional nine years in prison. The prosecutor outlined aggravating factors, highlighting that Nadiem’s actions undermined clean governance and severely impacted education quality. His involvement, along with co-defendants, inflicted substantial state financial losses, including Rp 1.597 trillion from Chromebooks and approximately Rp 621.3 billion from unnecessary cloud device management.