Witness says no record of Rp809.59 billion flowing to Nadiem Makarim
Jakarta (ANTARA) - A witness in the alleged Chromebook corruption case, Adesty Kamelia Usman, stated there is no record of Rp809.59 billion flowing to the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology for the 2019–2024 period, Nadiem Anwar Makarim.
As Group Head of Finances and Accounting at PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO), Adesty testified that the transaction does not appear in the bank statements of PT Gojek Indonesia or PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB).
“There was no payment to Mr Nadiem,” Adesty said during a witness examination hearing at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday.
Adesty explained that a transaction of that value was recorded as a share acquisition from PT AKAB to PT Gojek Indonesia on 13 October 2021. On the same day, she said, the funds were transferred back to PT AKAB as a debt repayment.
The statement was corroborated by GOTO’s Director of Legal and Group Corporate Secretary, Koesoemohadiani, at the same hearing. She stated that from a legal standpoint, there are no documents underpinning a transaction of Rp809.59 billion between PT AKAB and Nadiem, nor between PT Gojek Indonesia and Nadiem.
The alleged corruption was carried out through the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning facilities, namely Chromebook laptops and CDMs (Content Distribution Machines), for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, which did not comply with procurement planning and procurement principles.
The acts were allegedly committed jointly with three other defendants who have already stood trial — Ibrahim Arief, also known as Ibam, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih — as well as Jurist Tan, who is currently a fugitive.
In detail, the state losses incurred comprise Rp1.56 trillion related to the education digitalisation programme at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, as well as US$44.05 million, equivalent to Rp621.39 billion, resulting from the procurement of unnecessary and useless CDMs under the education digitalisation programme.
It was noted that the majority of PT AKAB’s funds originated from a Google investment worth US$786.99 million. This can be seen from Nadiem’s wealth recorded in his 2022 State Officials’ Wealth Report (LHKPN), which shows securities holdings valued at Rp5.59 trillion.
For his actions, Nadiem faces criminal charges under Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption, as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) point 1 of the Criminal Code.