Nadiem Registers Appeal Against Chromebook Corruption Verdict at Central Jakarta Court

Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim officially registered an appeal against his corruption verdict at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday. His lawyer, Zaid Mushafi, stated that the appeal memorandum criticises various considerations made by the judges in the Chromebook procurement case. “In our appeal, we are asking the high court panel of judges to retry the case and re-examine the facts considered by the first-level court,” Zaid said after submitting the memorandum. He highlighted the judges’ assessment regarding the granting of a power of attorney for Nadiem’s shares in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB) and PT Gojek Indonesia to another party. According to Zaid, this action was a form of conflict of interest avoidance in the procurement process, yet the panel of judges deemed the power of attorney a mere formality used to protect a conflict of interest. He claimed that all witnesses and evidence examined during the trial explicitly stated that Nadiem never gave any instructions to the proxy holder. “There is no material evidence stating there was an order or coordination, nor any permission or notification related to the granting of that power of attorney. This is one part of our appeal memorandum,” he said. Furthermore, Zaid contested the first-level court’s assessment regarding the selection of officials within the Ministry of Education and Culture. He stated that the selection process was conducted by a selection committee, meaning there was no intervention from his client. He added that the selection process took place in March 2020, whereas the technical team for the Chromebook procurement was only formed at the end of April 2020. The appeal also disputes the restitution payment of Rp809.59 billion imposed on Nadiem. Based on trial documents and facts, Zaid argued there was no intervention from Nadiem when the funds flowed to PT AKAB, and there is no material evidence that the money entered his personal pocket. “Do not make excuses like ‘he doesn’t have to receive it directly, it could go to a corporation or someone else’. If that is the case, prove what Nadiem’s role was in receiving it,” Zaid stated. In the alleged corruption case involving the digitalisation of education programme through the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education and Culture for the 2019-2022 period, Nadiem was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of corruption. In addition to the prison sentence, he was also fined Rp1 billion, with a subsidiary of 190 days imprisonment, and ordered to pay restitution of Rp809.59 billion, with a subsidiary of 5 years imprisonment. The restitution was imposed after it was proven he received Rp809.59 billion from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) through PT Gojek Indonesia. The majority of PT AKAB’s funds originated from a Google investment worth 786.99 million US dollars. In this case, Nadiem was proven to have abused his authority, causing state financial losses amounting to Rp1.56 trillion. The corruption included implementing the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning tools, specifically Chromebook laptops and CDM, for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years, which did not comply with procurement planning and principles. The founder of the technology company was found to have committed the acts together with three other convicted defendants: Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who remains a fugitive. Consequently, Nadiem was proven to have violated criminal provisions stipulated in Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) 1 of the Criminal Code.