By Stanley Widianto and Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam
JAKARTA, June 30 (Reuters) – An Indonesian court is scheduled on Tuesday to announce its verdict in a controversial corruption case against former education minister Nadiem Makarim, the co-founder of the country’s largest start-up, who is accused by prosecutors of using his executive powers to enrich himself.
The verdict caps off a saga that has dragged on for months, eliciting the attention of high-profile figures from around the world and raising concerns that Indonesia’s legal system is being used for political purposes.
Prosecutors allege that Nadiem, 41, personally benefited from improper laptop procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing around $125 million in state losses.
They have sought an 18-year prison sentence, and demand that he pay around 5.6 trillion rupiah ($314 million) in fines and restitutions.
Makarim’s sentencing could be one of Indonesia’s most high-profile legal cases prosecuted against a former minister.
“It’s been more than nine months since this nightmare began,” Makarim, who was arrested in September, said last week on a LinkedIn account run by his legal team.
Makarim, who resigned as chief executive of technology and ride-hailing start-up Gojek in 2019 to serve as education minister until 2024, has been accused of enriching himself to the tune of around 809 billion rupiah ($46.33 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 only fit the Chrome system, to “make Google the sole controller of the education ecosystem in Indonesia”. They also said Google’s investment in Gojek’s parent company influenced the procurement of the laptops.
Google has not been indicted. Makarim said Google’s investment in Gojek was not connected to the procurement.
In January, Google said its investments in Gojek-related entities occurred between 2017 and 2021, pre-dating Makarim’s appointment as education minister.
LEGAL QUESTIONS
Analysts have questioned the case against Makarim.
Tim Lindsey, a law professor at the University of Melbourne, who has researched the Indonesian legal system extensively, said the charges brought against Makarim, alleging that his actions caused state losses, were often interpreted broadly and conflated inefficiency and taking risks with corruption.
“This is a huge expansion of the notion of corruption, way beyond what most people and most legal systems would consider corrupt,” he said.
He warned that the politicisation of judicial matters was harming Indonesia’s global image.
“These sorts of prosecutions, combined with the increasing intrusion of the state into the commercial sector, are contributing to damage to Indonesia’s reputation among investors,” Lindsey added.
‘READY FOR THE WORST’
Makarim’s case has drawn international criticism.
British billionaire Richard Branson said on LinkedIn that Makarim “should be celebrated for what he achieved, not prosecuted on trumped-up charges that seem politically motivated.”
In an interview with Reuters earlier this month, Makarim, a Harvard Business School graduate, maintained his innocence and said he was a cautionary tale for young professionals.
“My case is scary for young people, for public officials, for procurement officers, for investors,” he said.
Makarim said he would appeal a guilty verdict.
“I’m ready for the worst,” he said.
($1 = 17,835 rupiah)
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Gibran Peshimam; Editing by David Stanway)
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