Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian prosecutors have demanded an 18-year prison sentence for former education minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim over alleged corruption in a multibillion-rupiah Chromebook procurement scheme.“Prosecutors request the defendant be found guilty of jointly committing corruption as charged in the primary indictment,” Roy Riady of the Attorney General’s Office told the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Wednesday.Nadiem, who served as minister of education, culture, research and technology from 2019 to 2024, is also facing a 1 billion rupiah (US$57,000) fine, or an additional 190 days in jail if the fines remain unpaid.Prosecutors further demanded he pay 809.59 billion rupiah in compensation, with a subsidiary nine-year sentence if not settled, and an additional 4.87 trillion rupiah in replacement money.The indictment alleges Nadiem and several co-defendants caused state losses of 2.18 trillion rupiah ($124 million) through irregular procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management systems between 2020 and 2022.Prosecutors said the project ignored planning principles and undermined Indonesia’s education sector.“The defendant’s actions did not support the government’s program for clean governance free of corruption, collusion and nepotism,” Riady said, adding that corruption in education had harmed equal access to schooling.Prosecutors also argued that Nadiem benefited personally from the scheme, citing assets considered disproportionate to his legal income.They referred to his 2022 asset declaration, which showed Rp5.59 trillion in securities allegedly linked to funds from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB), the parent company of Gojek, which had received significant investment from Google.Other defendants in the case include Ibrahim Arief, Sri Wahyuningsih, and Mulyatsyah, while businessman Jurist Tan remains at large.Prosecutors said the defendants collectively caused losses of Rp1.56 trillion through the digitalization program and an additional US$44 million through unnecessary CDM procurement.While prosecutors considered Nadiem’s lack of prior convictions a mitigating factor, they cited his allegedly evasive testimony and the scale of state losses as aggravating factors.If convicted, Nadiem could face penalties under Indonesia’s anti-corruption law and criminal code.