Judge Determines Chromebook Corruption Case Caused State Loss of Rp5.26 Trillion

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The panel of judges has determined that the alleged corruption case in the education digitalisation programme, involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and CDM within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology from 2019 to 2022, has caused a state financial loss of Rp5.26 trillion. Judge Sunoto stated that the state loss occurred due to the activation of the Chrome Device Management (CDM) programme and overpayments in the procurement of Chromebook laptops in the education digitalisation programme within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. “This comes from admissions in the trial which are actually larger than the calculations by the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP),” said Judge Sunoto during the verdict reading session at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday. Judge Sunoto detailed the state loss from the CDM programme activation at US$44.05 million, equivalent to Rp621.39 billion. Meanwhile, for the overpayment in Chromebook laptop procurement, the state loss was recorded at Rp4.64 trillion, arising from efforts to inflate or mark up the price by Rp4 million per unit, or three times the market price, multiplied by the procurement of 1.16 million Chromebook units. The determination of this state loss was read in the verdict against the Technology Consultant at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam. He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rp500 million, subsidiary 120 days’ imprisonment. In that regard, Ibam was proven to have procured information and communication technology-based learning facilities in the form of Chromebook laptops and CDM that did not comply with the procurement planning and various procurement principles, thus causing state financial loss. Thus, he was found guilty of violating Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended and supplemented by Law No. 20 of 2001 jo. Article 55 paragraph (1) first of the Criminal Code.