Appeal hearing verdict for Ibam in 'Chromebook' corruption case postponed again
The DKI Jakarta High Court panel of judges has again postponed the appeal verdict hearing for the corruption case involving Chromebooks, which implicates defendant Ibrahim Arief, also known as Ibam. Presiding Judge Catur Irianto stated that the panel had just received a counter-memorandum of appeal from Ibam’s legal team, which requires prior consideration. “We have scheduled the next hearing for Monday, 31 August 2026,” the presiding judge said during the session at the DKI Jakarta High Court on Thursday.
Speaking after the hearing, Ibam expressed hope that the postponement would provide the panel of judges with an opportunity to examine the case in greater detail and more thoroughly. In his counter-memorandum of appeal, he questioned his status in the Chromebook corruption case, arguing that as he was merely a Technology Consultant at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology at the time, any allegation of abuse of authority is irrelevant. “Our hope is to be acquitted through this appeal, because being convicted of abuse of authority raises a huge question mark,” Ibam said.
Previously, the appeal verdict hearing for Ibam’s case was also postponed from Thursday, 30 July. At that time, the panel of judges stated they were not ready to read the verdict as the case was still under deliberation. In the alleged corruption case concerning the educational digitalisation programme involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology from 2019 to 2022, Ibam was sentenced to four years in prison at the first-instance court after being found guilty of involvement in corruption.
He was proven, among other things, to have carried out the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning tools in the form of Chromebook laptops and CDM that did not conform to procurement planning and various procurement principles, causing state financial losses totalling Rp5.26 trillion in the case. In addition to the prison sentence, Ibam was also fined Rp500 million by the panel of judges at the Corruption Court in the Central Jakarta District Court, with the provision that if the fine is not paid, it will be replaced by 120 days of imprisonment. Consequently, Ibam was found guilty of violating Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.