Judge States Ibam Knew of 3 Chromebook Weaknesses but Emphasised ChromeOS Advantages

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The panel of judges stated that Ibrahim Arief, alias Ibam, as a former consultant to Nadiem Makarim, knew of three weaknesses in Chromebooks since February 2020. These three weaknesses were limitations in internet connectivity, compatibility issues with applications from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), and the continued need for devices with a Windows operating system. “In this regard, the fact that the defendant on 21 February 2020 knew and documented in an engineering update three weaknesses of Chromebooks, namely limitations in internet connectivity, compatibility issues with ministry applications, and the continued need for Windows-based devices,” said member judge Sunoto during the sentencing hearing for Ibam in the alleged corruption case of Chromebook laptop procurement, at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Tuesday (12/5/2026), quoted from the Kompas TV YouTube broadcast. “In subsequent meetings, he continued to present Chromebooks by only highlighting the advantages of ChromeOS and did not balancedly disclose those three weaknesses again,” said the judge. Additionally, the judge stated that Ibam knew the market price of Chromebooks but deliberately hid the price slide. The concealment of the price by Ibam was based on instructions from Nadiem’s former special staff, Fiona Handayani. “Legal facts show that the defendant was not a peripheral or marginal actor who merely followed the flow of policy, but rather an active technocrat with real agency in the criminal events that occurred, with high professional capacity who consciously carried out, directed, and legitimised a policy that was known to contain fundamental technical weaknesses,” said the judge. “Therefore, imposing a sentence on the defendant Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam with imprisonment for 4 years and a fine of Rp 500 million,” said the Chief Judge of the Panel, Purwanto S Abdullah, during the hearing at the Corruption Court, Central Jakarta District Court, Tuesday (12/5/2026). Ibrahim Arief was found to have violated Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of the Corruption Offences Law in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph 1 number 1 of the old Criminal Code.