Indonesia sentences Gojek founder to 10 years in prison in controversial graft case

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By Stanley Widianto and Heru AsprihantoAn Indonesian court on Tuesday ruled that Nadiem Makarim, co-founder of tech firm Gojek and a former education minister, was guilty in a corruption case and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.Makarim, 41, has fiercely protested his innocence - a position that has found support from academics both in Indonesia and internationally, some of whom say the case against him appears to be politically motivated.The verdict also has the potential to further undermine investor confidence in Indonesia.The rupiah and stocks have slumped this year after cuts to outlooks from credit ratings agencies on unpredictable policymaking and governance concerns, while index provider MSCI is weighing whether to downgrade Southeast Asia's biggest economy due to market transparency concerns.ORDERED TO PAY $45 MILLION OR FACE ANOTHER FIVE YEARSMakarim, who served as education minister from 2019 to 2024 under the previous administration of Joko Widodo, was accused of profiting from the government's decision to purchase Google NASDAQ:GOOG Chromebook laptops for schools, leading to $125 million in state losses.Chief Judge Purwanto Abdullah, presiding over the ruling at Indonesia's Corruption Court in Jakarta, said a panel of judges had found Makarim guilty of abuse of authority and of causing state losses. He was found not guilty of directly seeking to enrich himself.Makarim, once one of the biggest stars of Indonesia's tech startup scene, was also fined 1 billion rupiah and ordered to return over 800 billion rupiah ($45 million) that the judges said was an amount he personally gained from the deal. Failing to return the money would add five years to his prison sentence, the judges said.Flanked by family and friends, Makarim tearfully vowed to appeal."The judges couldn't even look me in the eye," he said, adding he could not pay the amount ordered under the ruling.SHOCKED BY 'AGGRESSIVENESS' OF PROSECUTIONProsecutors alleged that Google's NASDAQ:GOOG investment in Gojek's parent company influenced the procurement decision and that Makarim created tender specifications that only fit the Chrome system to "make Google the sole controller of the education ecosystem in Indonesia".Google was not indicted.Google said on Tuesday that its investments in Gojek came before the ministerial appointment, adding it had "never offered, promised or provided any b...

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