Prominent Tech Founder in Indonesia Is Found Guilty in Corruption Case
A court in Indonesia sentenced the nation’s most prominent tech tycoon on Tuesday to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of abusing his power and causing losses to the state, in a closely watched case that has sent shock waves through the country’s elite and foreign business community.Nadiem Makarim was a co-founder of Gojek, often described as Indonesia’s version of Uber.He was convicted over a decision he made six years ago, when he was the government’s education minister, to award a contract to purchase Google computers to use for remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.Prosecutors claimed that the contract was a quid pro quo for investments Google had made in Gojek years earlier.
They alleged that the contract had enriched Mr.Nadiem personally and had cost the government 1.5 trillion rupiah, or nearly $85 million, because of unverified pricing and markups.A panel of four judges found Mr.
Nadiem guilty of abusing his power, saying the elements of the government’s case against him were “proven lawfully and convincingly.” He was found not guilty of the primary charge of personal enrichment.One judge dissented from the guilty verdict, saying that Mr.
Nadiem had nothing to do with the pricing decision for the procurement of Chromebooks.Mr.Nadiem, 41, has repeatedly denied the charges, saying prosecutors could not prove he received any money.
Critics of the case, including some of Indonesia’s most prominent lawyers, have said the prosecution’s argument was fundamentally flawed and rested on weak evidence.The high-profile case has raised questions about the fairness of Indonesia’s judicial system and the country’s attractiveness as a place to do business.Investor confidence in Indonesia had already been shaken by the increasingly unpredictable economic policies of Prabowo Subianto, the Indonesian president, who introduced a plan for the government to take control of the country’s commodities exports.We are having trouble retrie...