Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Indonesia's former minister of education, culture, research, and technology, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on corruption charges related to the procurement of ChromeOS-based laptops. The Corruption Court at Jakarta's Central District Court handed down the verdict on June 30, 2026.
Beyond the prison term, Nadiem was ordered to pay a fine of 1 billion rupiah (with an alternative 190-day detention if unpaid) and to restitute 809.59 billion rupiah, or face an additional five years in prison if he fails to pay.
The sentence came in eight years lighter than the prosecutors' 18-year demand, and it was not unanimous: one judge argued for acquittal on all counts.
Six aggravating factors, three mitigating ones
Presiding Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah outlined six aggravating circumstances. Nadiem's actions contradicted the government's anti-corruption pledge, he abused his ministerial authority when he should have set an example, and the scheme was deliberate and systematic. The court also found the state suffered massive financial harm. Two additional factors addressed broader impacts: the harm to education for children in disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost regions, and Nadiem's substantial personal wealth, which undermined any claim of financial need.
"The acts were conducted in a planned, structured, and systematic manner, resulting in enormous state financial loss," Purwanto said during the hearing.
The panel also noted three mitigating factors: Nadiem had no prior criminal conviction, he behaved respectfully and cooperated throughout the trial, and he is known as a contributor to innovations in education and technology.
Why was the 4.8 trillion rupiah claim rejected by the court?
The prosecutors' demand for 4.8 trillion rupiah in unexplained assets was rejected entirely by the bench. In its reasoning, the court ruled that such claims should be pursued through separate money-laundering proceedings, not the primary corruption case. The two legal tracks are distinct, and the panel did not adjudicate both simultaneously.
The rejection narrowed the gap between the "trillions in losses" narrative circulating since the indictment and the actual amount Nadiem must repay. The court found proven state losses of roughly 1.56 trillion rupiah, compared to prosecutors' earlier claim of 2.18 trillion. The restitution amount ordered, 809.59 billion rupiah, exactly matched what prosecutors had sought from the start. Nadiem has insisted the sum belongs to PT AKAB and is unrelated to Google or the Chromebook project.
One judge, a different conclusion
Judge Andi Saputra issued a dissenting opinion, formally disagreeing with the majority's conclusion. He argued that "the chain of evidentiary facts presented at trial did not establish perfect causality for concluding the defendant harbored criminal intent."
Saputra saw no strong causal link between the three core events cited in the charges: the laptop procurement policy, the resulting state loss, and a share capital increase by Google into PT GoTo. He also viewed the ministerial regulation as merely locking in a particular operating system without pointing to a specific brand, and thus insufficient to constitute a criminal act.
This dissent provides ammunition for Nadiem's defense on appeal. Immediately after the verdict, Nadiem addressed the court: "I will continue to fight, for my children, for my family, for all of Indonesia, which I still love. I will fight. I will appeal at once."
The prosecutor, Corneles Geeb Paulus H, signaled no intention to challenge the ruling: "This is not about who loses or who wins. Justice has been upheld today."
Two developments to watch: whether prosecutors will open a separate money-laundering investigation into the unexplained assets claim the court did not rule on, and the deadline for Nadiem to pay the 809.59 billion rupiah in restitution. If he fails to pay within one month of the verdict becoming final, his assets may be seized.
