Nadiem Makarim's Legal Team Unanimously Absent from Chromebook Corruption Case Hearing

The legal team of Nadiem Anwar Makarim unanimously did not attend the hearing on the alleged Chromebook corruption case at the Jakarta Corruption Court, located at the Central Jakarta District Court, on Wednesday (22/4/2026). The reason for the absence of Nadiem’s advocates remains unknown. When the hearing began around 3:00 PM WIB, the public prosecutors (JPU) from the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) did not mention the presence or reason for the absence of Nadiem’s legal counsel. “We, the public prosecutors, are present, but the legal counsel is not,” stated JPU from Kejagung, Roy Riadi, during the proceedings. In addition to his legal team, Nadiem was also not presented by the JPU in the hearing because he was ill. However, the former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology was waiting in the court’s detention room. Consequently, the panel of judges postponed the hearing, which was scheduled for the examination of witnesses and expert witnesses for mitigation, to Monday (27/4/2026). In the alleged corruption case of the education digitalisation programme involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology from 2019 to 2022, Nadiem is charged with corruption that harmed the state’s finances by Rp2.18 trillion. The corruption is alleged to have been committed, among other things, by carrying out 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 procurement principles. Nadiem’s actions are charged as being committed jointly with three other defendants in separate trials, namely Ibam, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who is currently a fugitive.