A Jakarta corruption ruling left Nadiem Makarim sentenced to 10 years in prison over a school laptop procurement corruption case. The former Indonesian education minister and Gojek co-founder denied wrongdoing and vowed to appeal the verdict.
Judges found Makarim guilty of corruption related to purchases of Chromebook laptops during the COVID-19 pandemic, Al Jazeera reported. The ruling concerned abuse of authority and losses to the state.
Chief Judge Purwanto Abdullah presided over the ruling at Indonesia’s Corruption Court in Jakarta. The panel found Makarim guilty of causing state losses, but not of directly seeking to enrich himself.
Nadiem Makarim Sentenced Alongside Financial Orders
The court said the case caused losses of approximately $120m. It also ordered a Rp1 billion fine and Rp809 billion in restitution, according to Al Jazeera’s report.
The report described the restitution as more than $45m and the fine as $55,850. Makarim faces additional prison time if he does not pay the amount ordered, the report said.
Prosecutors had sought an 18-year prison sentence and Rp5.68 trillion in restitution. Al Jazeera described that proposed restitution amount as about $313m.
Prosecutors alleged that the Chromebook purchasing decision was linked to Google’s investment in Gojek. The laptops run Google’s ChromeOS, according to the report.
Google was not charged and denied wrongdoing. The report distinguished the prosecutors’ account of that investment connection from the court’s finding that Makarim did not directly seek personal enrichment.
Makarim Rejected The Court’s Findings
Makarim consistently denied wrongdoing and said he would appeal. “The judges couldn’t even look me in the eye,” he said after the ruling.
The former minister said he could not pay the amount ordered. Makarim had argued that the procurement saved money, describing the case as an “investigative error.”
During his defence, Makarim said experts and factual witnesses had rejected the elements underlying the case. His statement disputed state losses, legal violations and enrichment of himself or others.
“Experts and factual witnesses have stated: there is no element of state loss, no element of violation of the law, no element of self-enrichment, enrichment of another person or company, and no malicious intent or bad intentions.”
Gojek’s Co-Founder Entered Government In 2019
Makarim, 41, co-founded Gojek in 2010. The company grew from a call centre with 20 motorcycle drivers into a major ride-hailing and delivery platform, the report said.
He became one of Indonesia’s youngest cabinet ministers in 2019 and served as education minister until 2024. Al Jazeera described the entrepreneur as having once symbolized Indonesia’s startup sector.
GoTo Group was formed after Gojek merged with Tokopedia in 2021. The group said Makarim had no decision-making role since resigning in 2019.
For separate coverage of legal cases involving startup founders, Grit Daily reported on the AppliedAI insider-trading plea and the Kalder founder charges. It also covered the Josh Wander fraud case.
Makarim said he entered government to encourage professionals into public service. Following the verdict, his stated next step was an appeal against the corruption ruling.
