An Indonesian appeals court reduced the prison sentence of former education minister Nadiem Makarim to nine years on Thursday, September 24, following his conviction in a high-profile school laptop corruption case. The Jakarta High Court also lowered the financial restitution he must pay to US$30.6 million.
Jakarta High Court Ruling Details
The Jakarta High Court upheld Nadiem’s conviction for corruption tied to the procurement of Chromebook laptops and the Chrome Device Management platform during his tenure running the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology from 2019 to 2024. According to Judge Catur Iriantoro, the panel rejected Nadiem’s appeal to dismiss all charges, ruling that the initial trial’s findings matched the evidence and witness testimony.
The appeals panel ordered a nine-year prison sentence alongside a 1 billion rupiah (US$60,000) fine, carrying a subsidiary prison term of 140 days if unpaid. The court reduced the required financial restitution to 548.8 billion rupiah (US$30.6 million), down significantly from the 809.6 billion rupiah (US$45.1 million) and 10-year prison term handed down by the Central Jakarta Corruption Court in June.
Sentencing Comparisons and Mitigating Factors
Judges pointed to several mitigating factors when shaving a year off the original sentence and reducing the financial penalties. The panel credited Nadiem’s conduct during the trial, his lack of previous criminal convictions, his family responsibilities, and his earlier contributions to job creation in the transportation sector through his founding role at Gojek.
Prosecutors originally accused the 42-year-old former minister of abusing his authority between 2020 and 2022 to procure 1.6 million Chromebooks at inflated prices under an education digitalisation program meant to support remote learning during the pandemic. The appeals court noted that Nadiem’s actions specifically benefited Google during the procurement process. Three other co-defendants convicted in the same case received prison terms ranging between four and five years.
Defense Response and Supreme Court Appeal
Defense lawyers immediately expressed dissatisfaction with the appeals ruling and announced plans to challenge the decision in the country’s highest court. Defense attorney Ari Yusuf Amir stated that legal teams would register the challenge with the Supreme Court as early as Friday, September 25.
“We will immediately file an appeal to the Supreme Court. Even one day of imprisonment will not be accepted,” Ari told The Business Times. The defense maintains that Nadiem committed no wrongdoing and that the procurement followed all applicable procedures, pushing for a complete acquittal rather than a sentence reduction.
Under Indonesia’s new Criminal Procedure Code, both defendants and prosecutors hold the right to challenge High Court verdicts. The Supreme Court evaluates whether lower courts applied the law correctly rather than conducting a full retrial of the facts and evidence.
Keep reading