Nadiem Anwar Makarim, one of the co-founders of the ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Indonesia's anti-graft court on Tuesday. The conviction stems from a corruption case during his time as education minister, related to the ministry's purchase of Google Chromebook laptops for schools.
The Jakarta Corruption Court found Makarim guilty of abusing his authority by pushing his ministry to acquire Google Chromebook laptops during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court ordered Makarim to repay 809 billion rupiah, approximately $45.2 million, which prosecutors stated represented the value of Google's investment in Gojek's parent company, PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa. A fine of 1 billion rupiah, about $55,870, was also imposed. Prosecutors alleged the purchasing decision resulted in $125 million in state losses.
Presiding Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah stated that Makarim, as a minister, "abused his authority" in actions described as "deliberate, structured and systematic." The judge noted that Makarim exacerbated the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic when the education sector was already facing a crisis.
However, the court did not find that Makarim's advocacy for Chromebooks directly influenced Google's investment. Testimonies from three former Google executives during the trial indicated that Google's investment in GoTo was unrelated to the Indonesian government's procurement decision.
Makarim, 41, criticized the sentence as excessive and announced his intention to appeal, asserting that the prosecution's accusations were unsubstantiated and that there was no evidence of bribery, conflict of interest, or state loss. He also claimed that the policy to select the cheapest laptops based on a free operating system had saved at least 3.6 trillion rupiah, about $201 million.
The 10-year sentence was less than the 18 years sought by the prosecution. The judges cited Makarim's productive age and the potential for rehabilitation as reasons for the reduced penalty. Time served since his arrest in September will be deducted from his sentence.
Makarim was detained along with two former education ministry officials and a former tech consultant, who received sentences of up to four-and-a-half years. Authorities are seeking another staff member involved in the case.
The trial, which began in January, garnered significant public attention, with supporters of Makarim, including motorcycle taxi drivers, often attending the proceedings. Judges cited a conflict of interest as the driving factor behind Makarim's decision to favor ChromeOS and Chrome Education Upgrades, products exclusively licensed by Google, despite advice from the ministry's legal bureau and policies that prioritized domestic products. The judges also stated that Makarim systematically removed officials who opposed the Chromebook policy during his term.
In a dissenting opinion, one panel member argued that there was insufficient evidence and that Makarim should be acquitted.