Foreign Media Spotlight Nadiem Makarim's 10-Year Prison Sentence

A number of foreign media outlets have highlighted the Indonesian court’s verdict against former Education Minister and founder of Indonesian tech company Gojek, Nadiem Makarim. On Tuesday (30/6/2026), he was officially found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 10 years in prison. French news agency AFP, as published by Channel News Asia (CNA), reported how Nadiem was convicted of corruption related to the procurement of Chromebooks for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in state losses of around US$120 million (approximately Rp 2.18 trillion). “The anti-corruption court in Jakarta also ordered Nadiem to pay a fine of Rp 1 billion and restitution of Rp 809 billion or serve additional prison time,” the report stated in an article titled “Indonesia’s Former Minister and Gojek Founder Gets 10-year Jail for Corruption”. “The case marks a remarkable reversal of fortune for the Ivy League-educated founder of ride-hailing app Gojek, once hailed as an icon of Indonesia’s tech startup scene,” it added. “Nadiem, 41, became one of the country’s youngest Cabinet members in 2019 and served as education minister until 2024,” the report further noted. Reuters also covered the story, mentioning that Nadiem denied the charges, claiming the case against him was politically motivated. “The verdict has the potential to further weaken investor confidence in Indonesia,” the report added in an article titled “Indonesia’s Makarim Gojek Founder Former Minister Found Guilty”. “The rupiah and stocks have slumped this year following a downgrade in outlook from credit rating agencies due to concerns about unpredictable policymaking and governance, while MSCI index provider is considering whether to downgrade the Indonesian economy over market transparency concerns,” the report continued. Meanwhile, Singapore’s Straits Times wrote that Google was also implicated in the case, though the tech giant has not been indicted. The publication quoted the judge stating that “the defendant did not abstain or resign,” and found that Nadiem “actively signed regulations favouring the Google ecosystem when there was a conflict of interest”. “The court also rejected Nadiem’s claim that he merely endorsed decisions made by his subordinates, describing him as the ‘top of the chain’ behind the programme,” the report added. The publication also noted that dozens of Nadiem’s supporters, particularly Gojek drivers, gathered outside the courthouse, shouting “unfair” and “free Nadiem”.