Gojek co-founder sentenced to 10 years in Indonesia over school laptops corruption case
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's anti-graft court on Tuesday sentenced one of the co-founders of ride-hailing and payments giant Gojek to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty in a high-profile corruption case stemming from his time as education minister.
Nadiem Anwar Makarim was convicted of pushing his ministry to buy Google Chromebook laptops for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic as the American tech giant was considering an investment in Gojek's parent company. Makarim denied wrongdoing.
A panel of five judges at Jakarta’s Corruption Court ordered Makarim to repay 809 billion rupiah (about $45.2 million) — a figure prosecutors said represented the value to him of Google's investment in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa — and imposed a fine of 1 billion rupiah (about $55,870). Prosectors said the purchasing decision also caused $125 million in state losses.
“The defendant, as a minister who should serve as a role model, abused his authority. His actions were deliberate, structured and systematic,” said presiding Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah, “As a high-ranking official, the defendant exacerbated the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the education sector was already in crisis.”
The court didn't find that Makarim's push to buy Chromebooks actually influenced Google. Three former Google executives testified during the trial that Google’s investment in GoTo was unrelated to the Indonesian government’s decision.
Following the verdict Makarim, 41, criticized what he called an excessive punishment and said he would appeal because “there is not a single part of the accusation by the prosecution that has not been refuted, that has not been proven otherwise, no form of bribery, no conflict of interest, there is no state lost.”
Speaking to The Associated Press in a brief interview after the hearing, he said the policy to select the cheapest laptop based on an operating system that is free has saved at least 3.6 trillion rupiah (about $201 million).
“It’s very disappointing decision today and was shocking because the judges in their decision didn’t mention anything about enriching myself,” he said.
“So, I believe that this trial is about the picture of justice in Indonesia and about how every honest person who wants to serve their country are not save in this country,” Makarim added.
The 10-year sentence was far below the 18 years sought by the prosecution, which had told the court that Makarim had abused his position to influence policy decisions and corporate dealings.
The three-judge panel said they reduced the penalty because Makarim is still in his productive age and the sentence imposed should not deny the defendant the opportunity for rehabilitation and a return to contributing to society. They also ordered the time he has served since he was arrested in September to be deducted from the sentence.
Makarim was detained with two former education ministry officials and a former tech consultant who were sentenced up to four-and-half years in the case, while another staff member is wanted by authorities but remains at large.
The trial, which started in January, has drawn significant public attention, often attended by hundreds of motorcycle taxi drivers showing support for the man who helped create their industry.
The judges said Makarim’s decision to use ChromeOS and Chrome Education Upgrades — products licensed exclusively by Google — was driven by a conflict of interest, disregarding advice from the ministry’s legal bureau and policies that required to prioritizing domestic products.
“The defendant maintained the Chromebook policy by systematically removing officials who opposed it during his tenure as education and culture minister,” Abdullah said.
In a dissenting opinion, a member of the panel, Andi Saputra, argued that there was not enough evidence and Marakim should be acquitted.
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