Indonesia prosecutors seek 18-year prison sentence for Gojek founder in graft case
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Nadiem Makarim, a former Indonesian education minister and co-founder of ride-hailing firm Gojek, is alleged to have been involved in improper laptop procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic.
PHOTO: REUTERS
JAKARTA – Indonesian prosecutors said on May 13 that they were seeking an 18-year prison sentence for Nadiem Makarim, a former Indonesian education minister and co-founder of ride-hailing firm Gojek, over his alleged involvement in a corruption case.
He is alleged to have been involved in improper laptop procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic that led to US$125.6 million (S$160 million) in state losses.
If granted, the 18-year prison sentence would be one of the toughest punishments imposed on a former minister in recent years.
Makarim, who resigned as chief executive of ride-hailing company Gojek in 2019 to serve as education minister until 2024, has been accused of enriching himself by around 809 billion rupiah (S$59 million) through the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome OS for schools between 2020 and 2022, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors alleged that Makarim created tender specifications that fit only the Chrome system to “make Google the sole controller of (the) education ecosystem in Indonesia”.
During a hearing on May 13 at a Central Jakarta corruption court, prosecutors said Makarim’s role in the case, while serving as minister, violated the government’s anti-corruption pledges and harmed the education system.
The Chromebook laptops were purchased even though the ministry had determined in 2018 that their use for learning would require an internet connection, making them unsuitable for Indonesia, where internet availability is a major issue in remote areas, prosecutors told the court.
The ministry still went ahead with the purchase of the Chromebooks after Makarim met representatives from Google Asia Pacific and Google Indonesia several times in 2020, prosecutors said.
Makarim was detained in September along with several top officials from his ministry. He has denied wrongdoing, his lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir has said.
Makarim’s counsel was disappointed with the demands as prosecutors ignored new evidence presented in court, Mr Amir told Reuters on May 13.
He added that he expected a verdict to be reached in June.
Makarim told news outlet Tech in Asia in April that his case could spook foreign investors in Indonesia.
“I think it could be quite devastating,” he said.
The court has so far imposed jail sentences of up to 4 ½ years on three officials linked to the ministry for their involvement in the case, including a technology consultant sentenced late on May 12. REUTERS