Edward Febriyatri Kusuma, Jakarta – Google has been ordered to pay 50% of the state losses in a corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops for Indonesia's education system, while former education minister Nadiem Makarim had his prison sentence reduced to nine years on appeal.
The Jakarta High Court on Thursday maintained Nadiem's conviction over the procurement of Chromebooks and Chrome Device Management (CDM) for the Education Ministry's digitalization program, but cut his sentence from 10 years. The court also ordered him to pay Rp 548.76 billion ($30.6 million) in restitution, down from Rp 809.59 billion imposed by the lower court.
The court determined that the total state losses in the case amounted to Rp 1.57 trillion. It allocated 50% of the restitution, or about Rp 783.94 billion, to Google, which the judges said benefited from the use of Chrome OS and CDM licenses. Nadiem was assigned 35%, while Chromebook suppliers were assigned 15%.
The ruling also recommended that prosecutors investigate Google and other companies that the judges said benefited from the procurement.
Nadiem was convicted under Article 604 of Indonesia's Criminal Code for abusing his authority in the procurement, which the judges said caused losses to state finances.
Nadiem said after the hearing that he was disappointed that the court had upheld his conviction, despite welcoming the reduction in his sentence and financial obligations.
"I am very disappointed and sad that the decision was guilty," Nadiem told reporters after the hearing.
He also disputed the court's findings, saying he believed there had been no state financial loss, flow of funds to him or conflict of interest. Those statements represent Nadiem's position on the case and the court's ruling.
Nadiem was originally sentenced in June to 10 years in prison, a Rp 1 billion fine and Rp 809.59 billion in restitution, with an additional prison term if he failed to pay. He appealed the conviction and sentence.
Nadiem, the co-founder of Gojek, served as education minister from 2019 to 2024. The case concerns the ministry's procurement of laptops and related software during the 2019-2022 period.