Founder of Asian super-app Gojek sentenced to years in prison for corruption

The co-founder of the super app Gojek, who became Indonesia’s Minister of Education, was sentenced to several years in prison.

Nadiem Makarim, 41, was convicted of corruption in a controversial laptop deal. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but faces an even longer sentence because he is unable to pay restitution. He had pleaded not guilty.

Nadiem left Gojek in 2019 to join former President Joko Widodo’s government and served as education minister until 2024.

Critics of Indonesian authorities say the charges against him are based on little evidence and that he is the victim of a government campaign targeting his political opponents.

Gojek is a popular app in Southeast Asia, where more than 170 million people use it for transportation and digital payments. Nadiem gained a large following as the co-founder of one of Indonesia’s most successful technology companies.

In addition to the 10-year prison sentence, Nadiem was ordered to pay restitution of 809 billion rupiah ($45 million, £34 million) – the amount he was accused of enriching himself with – or serve an additional five years.

Nadiem said that, as he was unable to pay this sum, he was effectively sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He also faces a fine of one billion rupees. If he is not paid, he will serve an additional 190 days in jail.

The case involves the Ministry of Education’s purchase of Chromebook laptops for Indonesian schools from 2021 to 2022.

Controversial laptop deal

Prosecutors alleged that the Chromebooks were purchased after the ministry determined in 2018 that the computers required an internet connection to use, making them unsuitable for remote areas of Indonesia where internet connection is difficult.

The department made the purchase after Nadiem met with Google representatives in 2020, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors alleged that Nadiem favored Google – a Gojek investor – in the procurement, saying he created tender specifications that only fit the Chrome system to “make Google the sole controller of the education ecosystem in Indonesia”.

Nadiem remained a minority shareholder in Gojek while he was education minister.

They said Nadiem’s ​​actions violated the government’s anti-corruption commitments and harmed the education system. He was accused of causing $125 million in losses to the state.

He was also accused of benefiting from transactions worth Rs809 billion involving Gojek’s holding company.

Nadiem denied that Google’s investments in Gojek were linked to the public procurement and argued that the ministry’s choice to purchase the Chromebooks had resulted in reduced costs for the government.

He also argued that the Rs809 billion had always remained in the company’s accounts and that he had never personally touched the money.

Ultimately, a panel of judges ruled that it was not proven that Nadiem had enriched himself illegally. But they found that he had abused his authority and was guilty of corruption.

They said there was a conflict of interest and that the public procurement was intended to serve Nadiem’s ​​business interests and his relationships with tech giants.

On Tuesday, before the trial began, dozens of supporters, including Gojek drivers, showed up at the Jakarta courthouse. They carried white banners with the words “We are with Nadiem” and “Free Nadiem”.

“It was difficult for almost 10 months. As a family, we continued to pray, fight and stay by his side throughout this time,” Nadiem’s ​​mother-in-law, Sania Makki, told BBC News.

During the hearing, dozens of supporters – including drivers wearing Gojek jackets – sat in a nearby room where the proceedings were being broadcast live.

When the judge pronounced the verdict and sentence, Nadiem appeared visibly emotional and began to cry, while her supporters outside the courtroom booed loudly.

He was still in tears when he walked out of the courtroom and hugged several of his supporters.

Nadiem told reporters he would appeal. “I don’t know what words I can use to explain how I feel today,” he said.

“I don’t know who to ask for help, or where to seek justice. My only hope lies in the Indonesian people, in those who still believe that the truth still exists in this country.”

“Feeling of fear”

Some analysts have questioned the accusations against Nadiem.

“Eradicating corruption is used to attack those who are disliked or those who criticize those in power,” lawyer and activist Todung Mulya Lubis told BBC News.

Observers also say a guilty verdict could risk disillusioning young Indonesians who want to pursue careers in government.

“There’s a sense of fear. It’s like if anyone who’s not part of the government tries to work with the government or tries to do good in their own area in this country, am I going to be criminalized?” artist and political activist Andovi da Lopez told BBC News.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but around me there is this fear and people just say, ‘Don’t work with the government, don’t do it.’ And that fear is real,” he said.

For young Indonesians, Nadiem is seen as someone who “wants to bring change but is stuck in a government system that has systemic problems,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

“Maybe [Nadiem] was perceived as a constraint [the government] to innovate on policy, and maybe he wanted to do it too quickly,” he added.

Other observers have drawn parallels between Nadiem’s ​​case and that of two other political allies of former President Joko Widodo: former Trade Minister Tom Lembong and party official Hasto Kristiyanto.

Lembong and Kristiyanto were convicted of corruption but current President Prabowo Subianto pardoned them in the spirit of national reconciliation.

The verdict also comes at a time of increased unrest among the country’s youth, as the cost of living rises and the value of the local currency, the rupee, falls.

Anger against Prabowo’s government is growing, and in recent weeks there have been protest marches across the country against policies that activists say are driving Indonesia into bankruptcy.

Additional reporting by Riana Afifah and Astudestra Ajengrastri.