Aggravating Factors in Nadiem's 10-Year Sentence: Planned and Systematic Actions

The panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor) revealed several aggravating and mitigating circumstances before sentencing former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim to 10 years in prison for corruption related to the procurement of Chromebooks and Chrome Device Management (CDM) for the 2020-2022 fiscal years. Presiding Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah stated that Nadiem’s actions contradicted the government’s and the public’s commitment to eradicating corruption. Nadiem, as a minister who should have been a role model, was instead deemed to have abused his authority. ‘The act was carried out in a planned, structured, and systematic manner, resulting in enormous state financial losses and having a broad impact on the provision of education, especially for children in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost regions,’ Purwanto said during the trial on Tuesday (30/6). The judge also noted that Nadiem’s financial situation was very well-off, so there was no economic necessity driving his actions. Meanwhile, mitigating circumstances included the fact that Nadiem had never been convicted of a crime before. He was also considered polite and cooperative during the trial. ‘The defendant was previously known as a figure who contributed to innovation in education and technology,’ Purwanto added. Nadiem was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of Rp1 billion. The judge found Nadiem guilty of committing corruption as charged in the subsidiary indictment. Nadiem was also given an additional sentence requiring him to pay restitution amounting to Rp809.5 billion. If the restitution is not paid, it will be replaced with an additional 5 years in prison. One member of the panel of judges, Andi Saputra, expressed a dissenting opinion on the verdict. Andi assessed that the prosecutor’s charges against Nadiem were not proven and believed Nadiem should have been acquitted of all charges in the Chromebook case.