JAKARTA, TheKabarNews.com—The Jakarta High Court reduced the prison sentence of former education minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim from 10 years to nine on Thursday, September 24. It upheld his corruption conviction over the government’s Chromebook procurement program.

The appellate panel rejected Nadiem’s request for an acquittal in case No. 41/PID.SUS-TPK/2026/PT DKI. This case arose from the June ruling of the Central Jakarta Corruption Court.

The Jakarta High Court’s official schedule listed Thursday’s proceeding as the appeal judgment hearing.

“We sentence defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim to nine years in prison,” the presiding judge said while reading the verdict.

The court also ordered Nadiem to pay a Rp1 billion fine. If he fails to pay it, he must serve an additional 140 days in prison.

The appellate judges said the trial court had properly assessed the evidence and applied the law. Although they reduced the principal sentence by one year, the rest of the ruling stood.

Before the hearing, Nadiem maintained that the procurement caused no state loss, and there was no conflict of interest or payments to him.

“There is no element of corruption at all, no unlawful act,” Nadiem said upon arriving at the court, according to Suara.com.

The appeal panel rejected that position. It agreed with the lower court that a series of decisions made during Nadiem’s tenure benefited Google. Specifically, they found that the education digitalization program targeted devices running Chrome OS.

Judge Hotma Maya Marbun said the trial and appellate panels had addressed the defense’s objections and therefore rejected them.

The judges attributed approximately Rp1.56 trillion in state losses to the Chromebook procurement. They found Nadiem guilty under the subsidiary corruption charge linked to Article 604 of Indonesia’s Criminal Code. In addition, he was convicted under related anti-corruption provisions.

The appeal court also amended the restitution component of the lower court’s ruling. The first-instance judgment had required Nadiem to pay Rp809.597 billion or serve an additional five years. This provision would apply if his assets proved insufficient.

Initial reports on Thursday did not clearly set out the revised restitution terms. Therefore, the complete written appellate judgment is the authoritative reference.

The Central Jakarta Corruption Court imposed the original 10-year sentence on June 30. Its ruling also included the Rp1 billion fine and restitution order, according to the Jakarta High Prosecutor’s Office.

One member of the trial panel dissented and argued that the court should acquit Nadiem.

The case concerns the Education Ministry’s procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management services. These were for its 2020–2022 digitalization program.

Former Google executives testified at trial that the company’s investment in Gojek’s parent was unrelated to the ministry’s purchasing decision.

Thursday’s decision resolves the appeal at the Jakarta High Court. However, either side may still pursue cassation before the Supreme Court under Indonesia’s criminal procedure. This means the case may continue before the judgment becomes final.