Prosecution Hearing for Three Defendants in Chromebook Corruption Case Scheduled for Thursday

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Three defendants in the alleged corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebooks are scheduled to face the prosecution hearing at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) at the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday. The three defendants are Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam, a Technology Consultant for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek); Sri Wahyuningsih, Director of Primary Schools at the Directorate General of Early Childhood Education, Basic Education, and Non-Formal Education (PAUD Dikdasmen) for the period 2020–2021; and Mulyatsyah, Director of Junior High Schools at the Directorate General of PAUD Dikdasmen for the period 2020–2021. The hearing will be chaired by Judge Purwanto Abdullah and is scheduled to take place at 10:00 WIB in the Muhammad Hatta Ali courtroom. In this case, the three defendants are charged with committing corruption in the education digitalisation programme, specifically the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology from 2019 to 2022. The indictment states that the defendants are alleged to have committed these acts together with several other parties, including the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for the period 2019–2024, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, and former special staff member Jurist Tan. The unlawful acts include the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning facilities in the form of Chromebooks and CDM for the fiscal years 2020 to 2022, which did not align with planning and procurement principles. The defendants are also alleged to have prepared unit prices and budget allocations without supporting data from accountable surveys, and to have conducted procurement through e-Catalogue and the School Procurement Information System (SIPLah) without adequate price evaluations. For their actions, the three defendants are charged with violating Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law No. 20 of 2001, joined with Article 55 paragraph (1) first of the Criminal Code.