Indonesia Convicts Gojek Founder

• A court in Jakarta sentenced Indonesia’s former education minister to 10 years in prison in a case involving the purchase of school laptops.
• He was also fined 1 billion rupiah and ordered to return 809 billion rupiah; prosecutors said the state suffered losses of $125 million.
• The defendant denies wrongdoing, says he intends to appeal, and one of the judges disagreed with the verdict.

A court in Jakarta has sentenced Gojek co-founder and former Indonesian education minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim to 10 years in prison in a corruption case linked to the purchase of Chromebook school laptops during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court also ordered him to pay a fine of 1 billion rupiah and return 809 billion rupiah. Prosecutors said this amount corresponds to the benefit he allegedly received from Google’s investment in Gojek’s parent company, and that the procurement decision caused the state losses of $125 million.

According to the court, Makarim abused his office and promoted the use of ChromeOS and Chrome Education Upgrades, despite warnings from the ministry’s legal department and rules requiring preference for domestic products. At the same time, the court did not establish that his actions directly affected Google, and three former company executives testified that the investments were not tied to a decision by the Indonesian government.

The sentence is lighter than the 18 years sought by prosecutors. The court also credited the time Makarim had already spent in custody since his arrest in September. One of the five judges issued a dissenting opinion and said the evidence was insufficient for a conviction.

Makarim rejected the charges, called the verdict excessive, and said he would appeal the decision. During the trial, which began in January, hundreds of motorcycle taxi drivers who supported him were present in the courtroom.

Tags: Politics/Technology/Crime