Prominent tech entrepreneur and former minister sentenced to prison in Indonesia corruption case

A prominent Indonesian technology entrepreneur has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a corruption case linked to the purchase of Google Chromebooks for schools.

Nadiem Makarim, co-founder of tech company Gojek and former education minister under Joko Widodo’s previous administration, has been accused of profiting from the government’s decision to purchase Chromebook laptops and software for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Indonesia’s corruption court yesterday, Chief Justice Purwanto Abdullah said a panel of judges found Makarim guilty of abuse of authority and causing losses to the state.

However, the court found him not guilty of directly seeking to enrich himself.

Prosecutors alleged that the purchase decision was made because of Google’s investment in Gojek’s parent company.

Google said its investments in Gojek took place before Makarim’s appointment as minister and that it “never offered, promised or provided any benefits to Indonesian government officials in exchange for their decision to adopt Chromebooks or related products,” according to the Reuters news agency.

Makarim was also fined 1 billion rupees ($81,000) and ordered to return more than 800 billion rupees ($65 million), which judges said was an amount he personally earned from the deal.

Failure to return the money would add five years to his sentence, the judges said.

Makarim’s legal team, along with many legal experts, argued that prosecutors failed to provide conclusive evidence to prove his guilt.

His lawyers previously said the Chromebooks program saved money and that the state’s loss calculations were flawed.

Why is this court case controversial?

Makarim’s trial is one of the biggest corruption cases involving a senior Indonesian official in recent years.

It attracted attention, especially from the tech and startup communities, as Gojek was the first Indonesian “unicorn” or startup to reach a valuation of over $1 billion.

Gojek is a ride-hailing app and Indonesia’s equivalent to Uber, operating in several Southeast Asian countries upon launch.

On its official website, the company also claims to have created jobs across the region with more than 3 million drivers.

In 2019, Makarim became the youngest Asian person to receive the Nikkei Asia Prize for Business Innovation.

He left Gojek to become Indonesia’s Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology at the age of 35, making him the youngest minister in the country’s history.

Support for Makarim has poured in since the trial began, with academics and civil society groups saying the prosecution was “politically motivated” and warning that the case could prevent aspiring young professionals from entering public service and contributing to the country.

Asyifa Isvari, an Indonesian student at Harvard University, told the ABC she feared the prosecution of Makarim would deter technological innovation in Indonesia.

“I still have every intention of returning to Indonesia and contributing to Indonesia or working for Indonesia,” she said.

“But with the criminalization of [Mr Makarim] and also several other technocrats, it is clearly becoming more and more worrying to innovate. If our country punishes innovation, how are we supposed to progress beyond other countries?” she said.

Gojek drivers told the ABC after the verdict that they regretted Makarim leaving the company to join the government, a decision they said ultimately led to his imprisonment.

“As online motorcycle taxi drivers, we have been greatly helped by [Mr Makarim] to create this public application. So if he ends up being put in jail like this, it really weighs heavy on my heart,” said driver Chairul Anwar.

“We should show him some leniency.”

Tim Lindsey, a law professor at the University of Melbourne and an expert on Indonesia’s legal system, told Reuters the verdict “is likely to further damage the country’s image among investors and exacerbate existing concerns about the integrity of the legal system.”

Gojek motorcycle taxi drivers, dressed in green uniforms, gathered outside the court holding banners reading “Release him… No other option.”

One of the five judges expressed a dissenting opinion in the decision and called for Makarim’s acquittal.

The judge said the case provided no evidence of malicious intent, wrongdoing or any indication of a conflict of interest.

Speaking to Indonesian media, Makarim said the verdict “didn’t make sense” because, even though there was nothing in the conviction that said he was getting rich, he was still fined and ordered to return money to the state.

“I don’t have that amount of money and my total wealth at the end of my term as minister was much lower than that figure,” he told reporters after the court ruling.

On his Instagram account, Makarim said his only hope of seeking justice now was the Indonesian people.

“There has never been a case where millions of people followed all the facts of a trial so closely,” he wrote.

“It is very rare to see a case in which anti-corruption experts unanimously state that there is no element of corruption involved.

Makarim’s legal team said it would appeal the court’s decision.