Aggravating and Mitigating Factors in Nadiem Makarim's 10-Year Prison Sentence
The Panel of Judges at the Corruption Court considered several aggravating and mitigating factors before delivering the verdict against the defendant, Nadiem Makarim, in the Chromebook case.
“Before imposing the sentence on the defendant, the panel of judges presents the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, as stipulated in Article 54 of the National Criminal Code,” stated Chief Judge Purwanto Abdullah while reading the verdict during the session at the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.
The Chief Judge explained the aggravating factors of the decision, namely that Nadiem’s actions contravened the government’s and society’s commitment to eradicating corruption. Furthermore, as a minister who should have served as a role model, the defendant instead abused his official authority.
Additionally, Nadiem’s actions were deemed to have been carried out in a planned, structured, and systematic manner, resulting in massive state financial losses and widespread impacts on the provision of education, particularly for children in underdeveloped, frontier, and remote (3T) regions.
Furthermore, Nadiem’s affluent economic status, meaning there was no economic necessity driving his actions, was also considered an aggravating factor.
As for the mitigating factors considered by the panel, the judges noted that Nadiem had no prior criminal record, maintained polite and cooperative behaviour during the trial, and was previously known as a figure who contributed to innovation in education and technology.
In the case of alleged corruption regarding the education digitalisation programme involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for the 2019–2022 period, Nadiem was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being proven guilty of corruption.
In addition to the prison sentence, he was also ordered to pay a fine of Rp1 billion, with a subsidiary of 190 days in prison, and restitution amounting to Rp809.59 billion, with a subsidiary of 5 years in prison.
The restitution was imposed on Nadiem after it was proven that he had received funds totaling Rp809.59 billion from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) via PT Gojek Indonesia.
It was stated that a large portion of PT AKAB’s funds originated from a Google investment worth 786.99 million US dollars.
In this case, the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for the 2019–2024 period was proven to have abused his authority, causing state financial losses amounting to Rp1.56 trillion.
The corruption allegedly involved the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning tools, specifically Chromebook laptops and CDM for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years, which did not comply with procurement planning and principles.