Indonesia jails former minister Nadiem Makarim for corruption in laptop case

An Indonesian anti-graft court sentenced Nadiem Makarim to 10 years in prison on June 30, handing the former education minister a 1 billion rupiah fine and 809 billion rupiah in restitution in a case tied to school Chromebook purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors alleged the laptop procurement caused about $125.64 million in state losses and sought an 18-year prison term. Judges found that Makarim abused his authority, but they did not find that his push to buy Chromebooks actually influenced Google. Three former Google executives testified that the company’s investment in GoTo was unrelated to the Indonesian government’s decision. Google’s January statement covered investments in Gojek-related entities from 2017 to 2021, with most of that period before Makarim became minister in 2019 after resigning as Gojek chief executive.

Makarim denied wrongdoing throughout the case and argued that prosecutors had failed to prove state losses or self-enrichment. In his final defense plea on June 2, he warned that investors were being spooked by growing legal risks and that young professionals feared becoming the next targets.

The court had already sentenced three officials linked to the education ministry to prison terms of up to four and a half years, while one staff member remained wanted by authorities.