Jakarta. State prosecutors have demanded an 18-year prison sentence for former education minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim over an alleged corruption case tied to the procurement of Chromebook laptops for the country’s education digitalization program.

During a hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday, prosecutors accused Nadiem of causing state losses of Rp 2.18 trillion ($124.5 million) through procurement of Chromebooks and Chrome Device Management (CDM) software between 2020 and 2022.

In addition to the prison sentence, prosecutors demanded a Rp 1 billion fine and replacement payments totaling Rp 5.68 trillion. The replacement payment carries an additional nine years in prison if unpaid.

“I am effectively facing a 27-year sentence today. A record,” Nadiem told reporters after the hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court, arguing that the punishment sought by prosecutors was harsher than sentences imposed in some murder and terrorism cases.

The Gojek founder also disputed the corruption allegations and said the replacement payment far exceeded his actual wealth.

“You can imagine, that means the Attorney General’s Office is effectively demanding 28 years against me. For what mistake? There was no administrative violation and no element of corruption in my case,” he said.

Prosecutors alleged that Nadiem jointly committed corruption with several ministry officials and associates involved in the procurement project.

“We demand that the defendant be found legally and convincingly guilty of corruption committed jointly as stated in the primary indictment,” prosecutor Roy Riady told the court.

The Attorney General’s Office alleged that much of the illicit funds flowed through Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, the corporate entity linked to Gojek, and cited investments from Google as part of the financial trail examined in the case.

Prosecutors argued that the procurement process violated government procurement rules and included unnecessary CDM software that provided little benefit to schools. They said the alleged losses included Rp 1.56 trillion tied to the education digitalization program and another Rp 621.39 billion from unnecessary CDM procurement.

The prosecution also said the case harmed Indonesia’s education sector by disrupting efforts to improve equal access to quality education.

Nadiem’s co-defendants include former ministry officials Sri Wahyuningsih and Mulyatsyah, who have already been sentenced to four years and four-and-a-half years in prison respectively. Technology consultant Ibrahim Arief was sentenced on Tuesday to four years in prison in a related case, while former special staffer Jurist Tan remains a fugitive.

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