Four Jakarta Corruption Court Judges Reported to Supreme Court Supervisory Body
The legal team for defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim will report four judges of the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court to the Supreme Court’s Supervisory Body (Bawas MA). The four judges—Purwanto S. Abdullah, Sunoto, Eryusman, and Mardianto—were previously reported to the Judicial Commission (KY) on Monday (6/7).
Advocate Zaid Mushafi stated that the panel of judges failed to properly consider the facts and evidence presented during the trial. He said the report would likely be filed this week or next week at the latest. Zaid noted that reporting judges to both the KY and Bawas MA is constitutionally valid, as both institutions oversee the code of ethics and conduct of judges.
He added that while the KY and Bawas MA do not assess trial material or judicial technicalities, they can act if evidence of ethical breaches exists. Zaid also highlighted that some of the panel’s considerations were ethically inappropriate to serve as the basis for a verdict. He specifically cited an instance of partiality during witness examination as the reason for reporting one of the judge members.
Nadiem was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of corruption in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology’s digitalisation programme involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) from 2019 to 2022. He was also fined Rp1 billion, with a subsidiary of 190 days’ imprisonment, and ordered to pay Rp809.59 billion in restitution, with a subsidiary of five years’ imprisonment.
The restitution was imposed after Nadiem was proven to have received Rp809.59 billion from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) through PT Gojek Indonesia. Most of PT AKAB’s funds originated from a Google investment worth USD 786.99 million. Nadiem was found to have abused his authority, causing state losses of Rp1.56 trillion by procuring information and communication technology learning tools that did not comply with procurement planning and principles.
The court found that Nadiem committed the acts together with three other defendants who had already been convicted in separate trials—Ibrahim Arief, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih—as well as Jurist Tan, who remains at large. Nadiem was convicted under Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.
Zaid added that if the panel of judges did not provide the opportunity for a fair hearing, it falls under the authority of the KY and Bawas MA to assess the matter. Two other defendants in a separate Pertamina case, OTM Managing Director Gading Ramadhan Joedo and PT Jenggala Maritim Nusantara Commissioner Dimas Werhaspati, have taken similar steps. He noted that both defendants and prosecutors automatically have seven days to pursue legal remedies against the verdict.