From ministers to regents: Indonesia's corruption verdicts since 2019

Since 2019, Indonesian corruption courts have convicted at least six former cabinet ministers, a deputy minister and a long list of governors, regents and mayors. The cases cover social aid during the pandemic, lobster seed exports, telecommunications towers, school laptops and the sale of local government jobs. Sentences have ranged from 2 to 15 years, and several changed substantially on appeal.

This analysis brings together the court decisions recorded on NewsWLD's officials directory, each based on published reports of the verdict. It covers only what courts decided. Where a ruling was later changed or the case was ended by clemency, that is stated.

The ministers

Five of the ministers convicted since 2019 were members of the cabinet Joko Widodo swore in that October.

Imam Nahrawi, youth and sports minister from 2014 to 2019 and a National Awakening Party (PKB) politician, was sentenced by the Jakarta Corruption Court in June 2020 to 7 years in prison for bribery over grants to the national sports committee (KONI) and for gratification, Bisnis reported.

Juliari Batubara, social affairs minister from October 2019 to December 2020 and a PDI-P politician, was sentenced by the Jakarta Corruption Court on 23 August 2021 to 12 years and a Rp500 million fine for receiving fees of about Rp32.48 billion from the procurement of Covid-19 social aid packages, Detik and Hukumonline reported.

Edhy Prabowo, fisheries minister from October 2019 to November 2020 and then a Gerindra politician, received 5 years from the Jakarta Corruption Court in 2021 for bribery linked to lobster seed exports. The Jakarta High Court raised the sentence to 9 years, and the Supreme Court cut it back to 5 years on cassation, Kompas reported in March 2022.

Johnny G. Plate, communications minister from 2019 to May 2023 and a NasDem politician, was sentenced on 8 November 2023 to 15 years, a Rp1 billion fine and Rp15.5 billion in restitution for corruption in the 4G base transceiver station (BTS) project, Kompas reported. It is the longest sentence among the ministers in our records.

Syahrul Yasin Limpo, agriculture minister from 2019 to October 2023, was sentenced on 11 July 2024 to 10 years, a Rp300 million fine and restitution of about Rp14.1 billion plus USD 30,000 for extorting subordinates at the ministry, Detik reported. The Jakarta High Court raised the term to 12 years later in 2024, and in February 2025 the Supreme Court rejected his cassation, leaving 12 years in place, according to Kontan and Bisnis.

Nadiem Makarim, the Gojek co-founder who was education minister from 2019 to 2024, was sentenced by the Jakarta Corruption Court in June 2026 to 10 years for corruption in the procurement of Chromebook laptops, CNBC Indonesia reported. The Jakarta High Court reduced it to 9 years in September 2026, CNA Indonesia reported. Our records do not show whether a cassation appeal has been filed.

Immanuel Ebenezer, deputy manpower minister in the current government, was sentenced on 4 June 2026 to 4 years 6 months, a Rp200 million fine and about Rp3.4 billion in restitution for extortion in occupational safety (K3) certification, committed jointly with others, Kompas reported. The verdict became final after the KPK said on 15 June it would not appeal and he accepted it, CNN Indonesia reported.

Governors

Nurdin Abdullah, then suspended governor of South Sulawesi, was sentenced by the Makassar Corruption Court on 29 November 2021 to 5 years and a Rp500 million fine for bribery and gratification linked to infrastructure projects. He did not appeal, Kompas reported.

Lukas Enembe, governor of Papua, received 8 years, a Rp500 million fine, about Rp19.6 billion in restitution and a 5-year revocation of political rights from the Jakarta Corruption Court on 19 October 2023 for bribery and gratification, Detik reported. Detik noted that prosecutors' demands were not proven in full.

Rohidin Mersyah, former governor of Bengkulu, was sentenced by the Bengkulu Corruption Court on 27 August 2025 to 10 years, a Rp700 million fine and about Rp39.6 billion in restitution for corruption tied to funding his 2024 re-election bid, Detik reported.

Abdul Wahid, suspended governor of Riau, was sentenced by the Pekanbaru Corruption Court on 30 July 2026 to 2 years, a Rp200 million fine and Rp1.45 billion in restitution for extortion in the provincial public works office. Prosecutors had sought 8.5 years, Kompas reported. On the KPK's appeal, the Riau High Court raised the sentence to 4 years on 5 October 2026, Detik reported.

Regents and mayors

Local government heads make up the largest group in our records.

• Rahmat Effendi, mayor of Bekasi: 10 years, a Rp1 billion fine and a 5-year revocation of political rights from the Bandung Corruption Court in October 2022 for corruption in procurement and position auctions; raised to 12 years by the Bandung High Court in December 2022 (Detik).
• Ade Yasin, regent of Bogor: 4 years and a Rp100 million fine in September 2022 for bribing officials of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) West Java office (Detik).
• Budhi Sarwono, former regent of Banjarnegara: 8 years and a Rp700 million fine from the Semarang Corruption Court in June 2022 over public works procurement; a gratification charge was found unproven (Detik).
• Abdul Gafur Mas'ud, former regent of Penajam Paser Utara: 5 years 6 months, Rp5.7 billion in restitution and a 3-year revocation of political rights in September 2022 for taking bribes over project packages (CNN Indonesia).
• Puput Tantriana Sari, regent of Probolinggo: 4 years for bribery in the sale of village head positions; the Supreme Court rejected prosecutors' cassation and upheld the sentence (Detik, February 2023).
• Saiful Ilah, regent of Sidoarjo: 3 years and Rp250 million in restitution in October 2020 for receiving Rp600 million in bribes tied to infrastructure work (Kompas).
• Ahmad Muhdlor Ali, also regent of Sidoarjo: 4 years 6 months and Rp1.4 billion in restitution in December 2024 for cutting civil servants' incentives at the regional tax agency (Detik).
• Yana Mulyana, former mayor of Bandung: 4 years and a 2-year ban on holding elected office in December 2023 over CCTV and internet procurement for the Bandung Smart City project (Metro TV News).
• Erik Adtrada Ritonga, regent of Labuhanbatu: 6 years, Rp368 million in restitution and a 3-year ban from standing for legislative office in September 2024 (Detik).
• Sugiri Sancoko, regent of Ponorogo: 6 years 6 months and about Rp6.76 billion in restitution from the Surabaya Corruption Court in August 2026 for bribery and gratification linked to the sale of positions and a regional hospital project; both sides were weighing appeals (CNN Indonesia).

Patterns in the cases

Where the money moved. At ministry level, the cases cluster around large spending or licensing programmes: pandemic social aid, export permits for lobster seed, a national telecoms tower project, school laptop procurement, sports grants and safety certification. In the regions, three themes recur: kickbacks on infrastructure and procurement projects (South Sulawesi, Banjarnegara, Penajam Paser Utara, Bandung), payments for appointments (Probolinggo's village head posts, Bekasi's position auctions, Ponorogo) and pressure on subordinates or their pay (the agriculture ministry, Riau, Sidoarjo).

Same office, repeated cases. Sidoarjo had two consecutive regents convicted, Saiful Ilah in 2020 and Ahmad Muhdlor Ali in 2024.

Across parties. The convicted ministers include politicians from PKB, PDI-P, Gerindra and NasDem, as well as a non-party professional. No single party dominates the list.

Sentences often change after the first verdict

Appeals moved sentences in both directions. Upward: Syahrul Yasin Limpo (10 to 12 years), Rahmat Effendi (10 to 12) and Abdul Wahid (2 to 4). Downward: Nadiem Makarim (10 to 9). Edhy Prabowo's sentence went up from 5 to 9 years and then back to 5 at the Supreme Court.

Case reviews (PK) at the Supreme Court have also cut sentences years later. Former DPD speaker Irman Gusman had a 4.5-year sentence for a sugar import quota bribe reduced to 3 years in 2019, Detik reported. Former House speaker Setya Novanto, sentenced to 15 years in 2018 in the e-KTP case, had his term cut to 12.5 years on judicial review in 2025, Kontan reported.

Clemency is a separate route. Former trade minister Tom Lembong was sentenced to 4.5 years in July 2025 for corruption in sugar import licensing, and in August 2025 the case was ended by a presidential abolition with House approval. PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto, sentenced to 3.5 years for bribery in July 2025, received an amnesty with House approval in August 2025, The Jakarta Post reported.

Restitution and political rights

Courts often add restitution orders and limits on political activity to prison terms. The largest restitution orders in our records are Rohidin Mersyah's Rp39.6 billion, Lukas Enembe's Rp19.6 billion, Johnny G. Plate's Rp15.5 billion and Syahrul Yasin Limpo's Rp14.1 billion plus USD 30,000. Revocation of political rights or bans on holding office were imposed on Rahmat Effendi and Lukas Enembe (5 years), Abdul Gafur Mas'ud and Erik Adtrada Ritonga (3 years) and Yana Mulyana (2 years). Several other verdicts in our records carry no such ban.

What voters can check before the next election

A conviction does not end a political career. After serving his sentence, Irman Gusman was elected to the Regional Representative Council (DPD) for West Sumatra in a July 2024 re-vote. The Constitutional Court, which ordered that re-vote in June 2024, required him to disclose honestly and openly that he is a former convict, Antara reported. NewsWLD has reported on the rules that let former convicts stand for the legislature after a waiting period, if they disclose their record.

That puts the burden on voters to look. Before the next election, readers can:

1. Search the candidate's name in our officials directory and open their profile, which lists court verdicts, ethics rulings and education records with links to the reporting behind each entry.
2. Read the whole history of a case, not only the first verdict. Appeals and case reviews can add or remove years.
3. Check whether political rights were revoked and for how long, since that determines when a former official can run again.
4. Look at the office, not only the person. Repeated cases in the same ministry or district point to weak procurement and appointment controls that the next officeholder will inherit.

The records here are limited to published verdicts. An investigation, an arrest or a family connection to a convicted official is not a finding of guilt, and our profiles record court outcomes only after a ruling.