Sentenced to 10 Years in Chromebook Case, Nadiem to Appeal

Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim will file an appeal after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption in the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) for the 2020-2022 fiscal years. “I will certainly continue to fight for my children and my family, for the Indonesia that I still love. I will immediately file an appeal to fight for the truth,” Nadiem said following the verdict at the Corruption Court in Central Jakarta on Tuesday (30/6). Nadiem stated that the verdict was illogical because the judges, in his view, did not consider the facts presented during the trial. “I was sentenced to 10 years, plus 5 years, making it 15 years. I was sentenced based on facts that are completely illogical,” he said. Nadiem also addressed the restitution payment of Rp809 billion. He claimed he does not possess assets of that value in any form. “I was sentenced to 15 years because I was charged with restitution of Rp809 billion, which I do not have. They know this from my wealth report at the end of my term. I do not have that much money in any form. That Rp809 billion never touched me at all,” he stated. The panel of judges at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court previously handed down a sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of Rp1 billion. The judges declared Nadiem guilty of committing corruption as per the subsidiary charges. Nadiem was also given an additional penalty requiring him to pay restitution amounting to Rp809.5 billion. If the restitution is not paid, it will be replaced with an additional 5 years in prison.