The legal team representing former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim has issued a stern challenge to public prosecutors (JPU), demanding the disclosure of key evidence they claim could prove their client’s innocence. Defense attorney Ari Yusuf Amir argues that the severe charges brought against Nadiem are the result of a fundamental misunderstanding by the prosecution.
Currently, Nadiem faces a requested sentence of 18 years in prison, a fine of Rp 1 billion with a 190-day subsidiary sentence, and a restitution payment totaling Rp 5.6 trillion, which would carry an additional nine years of imprisonment if left unpaid.
“My conclusion is that the charges against our client are driven by emotion and ambition rather than legal rationality and logic,” Ari stated in South Jakarta on Wednesday (May 20).
A primary point of contention, according to the defense, is the prosecution’s misinterpretation of the stock split conducted by PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk. Ari explained that a stock split is a standard corporate practice designed to increase the number of shares without altering the company’s underlying value. While prosecutors pointed to the surge in Nadiem’s holdings from 58,416 shares in June 2021 to approximately 15 billion shares in October 2021 as suspicious, the defense maintains that the per-share value dropped proportionally, keeping the total value stable.
The defense also challenged the prosecution’s reliance on digital chat transcripts between Nadiem and his staff. Ari dismissed the evidence as mundane, arguing that the messages merely demonstrate routine office coordination rather than any criminal conspiracy. “We have found no electronic evidence that cannot be refuted,” he asserted.
These arguments come in response to the prosecution’s case regarding the alleged corruption in the 2019-2022 Chromebook procurement project. The JPU contends that Nadiem is guilty of abuse of authority in drafting two specific regulations: Ministry of Education and Culture Regulations Number 5 of 2021 and Number 3 of 2022. These regulations governed the operational guidelines for the Physical Special Allocation Fund in the education sector during that period.
“Through these decisions, the defendant enriched himself by Rp 809 billion and Rp 4.87 trillion, causing state losses amounting to Rp 1.56 trillion,” the prosecutor stated during a hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday (May 13).
The prosecution’s case rests on three primary pieces of evidence: documentation from a meeting on May 27, 2020, and digital conversations involving Jurist Tan, Fiona Handayani, and the Mas Menteri Core WhatsApp group. Furthermore, the prosecution asserts that total state losses exceed Rp 2.1 trillion, citing a Financial and Supervisory Agency (BPKP) audit that identified the procurement of Chrome Device Management (CDM) at a cost of US$ 44.05 million, or approximately Rp 621.38 billion.
Prosecutors argue that the issuance of the aforementioned ministerial regulations originated from a digital meeting on May 6, 2020, where Nadiem allegedly coerced ministry officials into adopting Chromebook laptops and the CDM system. According to testimony from a witness named Hamid, the shift from Windows to the Chrome platform was initiated directly under Nadiem’s instruction, summarized by the phrase “go ahead with Chromebook.”
Summary
The legal defense team for Nadiem Makarim has strongly contested the prosecution’s case, which accuses him of abuse of authority in a Chromebook procurement project. Defense attorney Ari Yusuf Amir argued that prosecutors misinterpreted a standard GoTo stock split as suspicious activity, asserting that the surge in share volume did not increase the total value of Nadiem’s holdings. The defense maintains that the charges lack legal logic and that the evidence, including routine chat transcripts, fails to prove any criminal conspiracy.
Prosecutors are seeking an 18-year prison sentence and significant restitution, claiming Nadiem enriched himself through ministerial regulations that caused state losses exceeding Rp 2.1 trillion. The prosecution’s case relies on documentation from ministry meetings and communications suggesting Nadiem coerced officials into adopting the Chrome platform. In response, the defense has demanded the disclosure of all evidence, asserting that their client is being unfairly targeted based on emotional rather than factual grounds.
