An Indonesian court has sentenced Gojek founder and former education minister Nadiem Makarim to 10 years in prison over corruption linked to a school laptop procurement programme.
The Central Jakarta District Court found him guilty of abusing his authority in the procurement process, which prosecutors said favoured the Google Chrome ecosystem, according to a report by The Business Times.
The court ordered Nadiem to pay 809 billion rupiah (US$48 million) in restitution.
If he fails to pay, his assets may be seized and auctioned. Should the proceeds prove insufficient to cover the restitution, he could face an additional 190 days in prison.
The panel of judges convicted him on the subsidiary charge of abusing his ministerial authority in relation to the procurement of 1.6 million Chromebooks between 2020 and 2022.
The panel acquitted him of the primary charge after prosecutors failed to prove the element of unlawfulness.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Andi Saputra argued there was insufficient evidence to establish that Nadiem received kickbacks from Google, noting that corruption cases require a high standard of proof.
Allegations of Google ecosystem bias
Prosecutors had originally sought an 18-year prison term. They alleged that Nadiem manipulated the tender specifications so only devices running the Chrome operating system qualified.
The prosecution also alleged that Google’s prior investment in GoTo, the tech group formed by the merger of Gojek and Tokopedia, created a conflict of interest that influenced the ministry’s procurement decisions.
Nadiem denied the allegations throughout the six-month trial.
He maintained that he designed the programme to accelerate digital education during the pandemic and complied with all regulations.
The 41-year-old stepped down as Chief Executive of Gojek in 2019 to join the Cabinet.
Nadiem has remained under house arrest since May 12 due to health complications, and his legal team plans to appeal the conviction.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Indonesia, based on image by wahyu_t and wirestock via Magnific
