Purbaya Confirms Husband of Viral LPDP Alumna Blacklisted by Government

JAKARTA — Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has confirmed that the husband of an Education Fund Management Institution (LPDP) alumna with the initials DS, who went viral on social media, will return all scholarship funds received to the state.

He said that LPDP Acting Director Sudarto had communicated directly with the relevant parties, and DS’s husband, who is also an LPDP scholarship awardee, has agreed to repay the scholarship funds.

“The head of LPDP has already spoken with the husband in question. And he appears to have agreed to return the money used from LPDP. This includes interest, mind you. LPDP funds — if I had placed that money in a bank, there would be interest, wouldn’t there? That’s fair treatment,” Purbaya said during the February 2026 edition of the APBN KiTa press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

The Finance Minister expressed disappointment at the alumna’s conduct, which he deemed insulting to the nation through social media posts. He stressed that LPDP funds originate from public taxes and partly from national debt allocated for human resource development.

“That is money from taxes and partly from debt that we set aside to ensure our human resources grow. But if it is used to insult the nation, then we will demand the money back with interest,” he added.