The Jakarta Selatan District Court’s Single Judge, I Ketut Darpawan, has officially rejected the pre-trial motion filed by former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek) Nadiem Anwar Makarim. The judge affirmed the legality of the Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) process in designating Nadiem as a suspect in an alleged corruption case concerning the procurement of Chromebook laptops.
“The petitioner’s pre-trial request is denied,” declared Single Judge I Ketut Darpawan as he read the verdict in the Oemar Seno Adji courtroom of the Jakarta Selatan District Court on Monday (13/10).
The judge stated that the AGO’s investigation was firmly supported by evidence, ensuring that the prevailing legal process is valid under the law.
He further emphasized, “The Pre-trial Judge holds the opinion that the investigation conducted by the respondent to gather evidence, clarify the criminal act, and consequently identify a suspect, has been carried out in accordance with criminal procedural law, and is therefore legally valid.”
During the pre-trial hearing, Nadiem’s legal team, led by prominent lawyer Hotman Paris, presented their arguments at the Jakarta Selatan District Court. The legal team challenged the Attorney General’s Office’s evidence used to name Nadiem a suspect in the alleged corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology during the 2019-2022 fiscal years.
“The designation of the Petitioner as a suspect, as stated in Suspect Designation Letter No. TAP-63/F.2/Fd.2/09/2025 dated September 4, 2025, on behalf of Nadiem Anwar Makarim, is invalid and not legally binding,” asserted Nadiem’s legal team, led by Hotman Paris, at the Jakarta Selatan District Court on Friday (3/10).
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The defense presented evidence purporting to show no alleged state losses resulting from the Chromebook laptop procurement. This claim was reportedly based on audit results from both the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) and the Inspectorate General of Kemendikbudristek.
“The audit results for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Equipment Assistance Program from 2020-2022, conducted by BPKP and the Inspectorate General of Kemendikbudristek, found no indication of state losses caused by unlawful acts,” the legal team explained.
This position was further bolstered by Kemendikbudristek’s consecutive financial reports for the 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years, all of which received an Unqualified Opinion (WTP). These findings are documented in the State Budget Accountability Law for the fiscal years 2019-2022. Therefore, Nadiem Makarim’s legal team contended that his suspect designation was not founded upon BPKP’s audit calculations of actual state financial losses.
“Yet, an audit result proving actual state financial loss is an absolute prerequisite, mandated as one of two pieces of evidence required under Article 184 of the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) in conjunction with Constitutional Court Ruling 21/PUU-XII/2014, rendering the designation of the Petitioner as a suspect invalid and not legally binding,” the team emphatically stated.
This pre-trial motion was filed after Nadiem Anwar Makarim was formally designated a suspect by the Attorney General’s Office in connection with the Education Digitalization Program, which ran from 2019 to 2022.
Nadiem became implicated in a substantial project for the procurement of 1.2 million laptop units intended for schools across Indonesia, with a particular focus on disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. The project was allocated a significant budget, reaching Rp 9.3 trillion.
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The AGO’s investigation uncovered that the procured laptops operated on the Chrome operating system, commonly known as Chromebooks. However, this policy was deemed ineffective for supporting learning in 3T regions, where a significant portion of the population still lacks adequate internet access, hindering the utility of these devices.
In addition to Nadiem, the Attorney General’s Office also named four other individuals as suspects in the case. These include Mulyatsyah, who served as Director of Junior High School at Kemendikbudristek from 2020–2021; Sri Wahyuningsih, Director of Elementary School at Kemendikbudristek from 2020–2021; Jurist Tan, a former special staff member to the Minister of Education; and Ibrahim Arief, a former technology consultant at Kemendikbudristek.
According to initial calculations, the actions of these suspects are alleged to have caused state losses totaling up to Rp 1.98 trillion. This substantial figure is reportedly composed of suspected irregularities in the procurement of Content Delivery Management (CDM) software, amounting to Rp 480 billion, and an estimated mark-up in laptop prices, which is believed to have reached Rp 1.5 trillion.
Summary
The Jakarta Selatan District Court has rejected the pre-trial motion filed by former Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim, upholding his suspect status in an alleged corruption case. The case involves the procurement of Chromebook laptops within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology from 2019 to 2022. The judge affirmed the legality and evidentiary support for the Attorney General’s Office’s investigation, despite Nadiem’s legal team, led by Hotman Paris, arguing against the designation based on audit results reportedly showing no state losses.
Nadiem was implicated in the Education Digitalization Program, a Rp 9.3 trillion project to procure 1.2 million laptops for Indonesian schools, including remote areas. The AGO deemed the Chromebook policy ineffective for regions with limited internet access. Four other individuals were also named as suspects. Initial calculations suggest state losses of up to Rp 1.98 trillion, reportedly from irregularities in software procurement and significant laptop price mark-ups.