Former Minister Nadiem Makarim Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Education Laptop Corruption

Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek), Nadiem Makarim, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a corruption case concerning the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM).

In its ruling, the panel of judges stated that Nadiem Makarim was proven guilty of committing corruption. “Sentencing the defendant to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rp1 billion,” said the presiding judge while reading the verdict at the Jakarta Central Corruption Court on Tuesday, 30 June 2026.

Nadiem was a defendant in a case of alleged corruption in the digitalisation of education programme, specifically the procurement of Chromebook laptops and CDM within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for the 2019–2022 period. He was previously charged with a prison sentence of 18 years, a fine of Rp1 billion, and a replacement payment of Rp5.67 trillion, or an additional 9 years in prison.

In this case, Nadiem Makarim was accused of committing corruption that caused state losses amounting to Rp2.18 trillion. The corruption was allegedly carried out by implementing the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning facilities, namely Chromebook laptops and CDM, for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years, in a manner inconsistent with procurement planning and principles.

The founder of a technology company was accused of committing these acts together with three other defendants in separate trials, namely Ibrahim Arief, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who remains at large. In detail, the state losses included Rp1.56 trillion related to the ministry’s education digitalisation programme and USD 44.05 million, equivalent to Rp621.39 billion, resulting from the unnecessary and unusable procurement of CDM.

Through these actions, Nadiem was alleged to have received Rp809.59 billion, sourced from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB). It was stated that the majority of PT AKAB’s funds originated from a Google investment of USD 786.99 million. This could be seen in Nadiem’s wealth, as recorded in the 2022 State Officials’ Wealth Report (LHKPN), which showed securities holdings valued at Rp5.59 trillion.