18-Year Prison Term for Nadiem Deemed Appropriate; Alleged Corporate Manipulation Under Scrutiny

Jakarta, VIVA - The indictment by the Prosecutor’s Office (JPU) against former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim in the case of alleged Chromebook procurement corruption is considered appropriate and well-founded in law. In the case, the JPU is seeking an 18-year prison term for Nadiem, reduced by the time already served. In addition, the defendant is demanded to pay a Rp1 billion fine with a six-month subsidiary imprisonment and restitution amounting to Rp5.8 trillion.

“The prosecutors’ firm move to prosecute Nadiem Anwar Makarim is very appropriate,” said a Prosecutor’s Office observer, Fajar Trio, to reporters on Thursday, 21 May 2026.

He said the case is not merely a matter of corporate administration, but an alleged systematically carried-out corporate manipulation.

“This case is not merely an issue of mis-recorded administration or a routine error on paper, but a meticulously designed corporate manipulation plot,” he said.

Fajar highlighted the JPU’s findings regarding inconsistency in capital accounting or the legal capital documentation mismatch in the investment from Google Asia Pacific Pte Ltd to PT A.

He judged that repeated concealment of real equity or understated equity could be classified as fraudulent corporate structuring.

“The facts and evidence presented by the JPU in court clearly indicate a form of fraudulent corporate structuring. That is, repeatedly concealing real equity is no longer simply administrative negligence, but an organised white-collar crime,” said Fajar.

He said the scheme is alleged to be designed to deceive regulators, evade tax obligations, and potentially harm the state through state-owned investments included in an opaque valuation.

Fajar also noted that manipulating capital accounting could affect state revenue from the tax sector.

“When the capital value is recorded as much lower, the scale of final income tax on capital is automatically manipulated. This clearly harms the state’s revenue from the fiscal sector,” he said.

He also warned of potential losses to public investors and state-owned enterprises if they buy shares based on valuations deemed not to reflect the true conditions.

“Because the valuation was initially made non-transparent through under-recording of capital, public investors and state-owned enterprises are lured into buying shares at prices manipulated to be much higher,” he said.