Nadiem Makarim Also Demanded to Pay Rp5.6 Trillion in Restitution

In addition to a prison sentence of 18 years and a fine of Rp1 billion subsidiary to 190 days’ imprisonment, prosecutors want the Corruption Court panel at the Central Jakarta District Court to order Nadiem Anwar Makarim to pay restitution amounting to Rp809,597,125,000 (Rp809.5 billion) and Rp4,871,469,603,758 (Rp4.8 trillion). According to the prosecutors, the former Minister of Education and Culture during President Joko Widodo’s administration has been proven to have caused losses to state finances in the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) for the 2020-2022 fiscal years. “Impose an additional criminal penalty on the Defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim to pay restitution of Rp809.59 billion and Rp4,871,469,603,758, which constitutes the Defendant’s assets disproportionate to his lawful income or suspected to originate from corruption,” stated Prosecutor Roy Riady while reading the criminal indictment at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday (13/5). In total, the restitution demanded from Nadiem amounts to Rp5,681,066,728,758 (Rp5.6 trillion). If the restitution is not paid, it will be substituted with 9 years’ imprisonment. Nadiem, along with special staff member Jurist Tan (fugitive) and consultant Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam, is accused of directing Mulyatsyah and Sri Wahyuningsih, as chair and deputy chair of the technical team for Chromebook laptops, to support the education digitalisation programme. The selection of Chromebooks, according to the prosecutors, was not based on an identification of the needs of primary and secondary education in Indonesia. “Thus, it resulted in a failure of utilisation, particularly in 3T (disadvantaged, frontier, outermost) areas, constituting an unlawful act and a betrayal of the constitution,” the prosecutor stated. Nadiem is being prosecuted for corruption offences causing state financial losses of Rp2.18 trillion related to the education digitalisation programme involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and CDM within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for 2020-2022. The corruption is alleged to have occurred, among other things, by implementing the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning facilities in the form of Chromebook laptops and CDM for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years not in accordance with the procurement planning and principles of procurement. Nadiem is said to have committed the offence jointly with other defendants in separate trials, namely Ibrahim Arief, Mulyatsyah, Sri Wahyuningsih, and Jurist Tan, who remains at large. The detailed state financial losses include Rp1.56 trillion related to the education digitalisation programme at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, as well as US$44.05 million or equivalent to Rp621.39 billion due to the procurement of unnecessary and unbeneficial CDM. Through these actions, Nadiem is suspected of receiving Rp809.59 billion from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) via PT Gojek Indonesia. It is stated that the majority of PT AKAB’s funding sources come from Google Asia Pacific investments worth US$786.99 million. Meanwhile, for Ibam, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, the Jakarta Corruption Court panel has already convicted the Defendants. Ibam, as a consultant at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, was sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rp500 million subsidiary to 120 days’ imprisonment. The ruling against Ibam was marked by a dissenting opinion from two member judges, Eryusman and Andi Saputra. Meanwhile, Mulyatsyah, as the former Director of Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in 2020, was sentenced to 4.5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rp500 million subsidiary to 120 days. He was also imposed with an additional penalty of paying restitution of Rp2.28 billion subsidiary to 2 years’ imprisonment. As for Sri Wahyuningsih, the former Director of Primary Schools at the Directorate General of Early Childhood Education, Basic Education, and Secondary Education in 2020-2021, she was sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rp500 million subsidiary to 120 days’ imprisonment. The cases of Mulyatsyah and Sri Wahyuningsih have already attained legal force or are final.