Foreign Media Spotlight Nadiem Makarim's 10-Year Prison Sentence
Several foreign media outlets have highlighted reports regarding the Indonesian court’s decision concerning the former Minister of Education and founder of the Indonesian technology company Gojek, Nadiem Makarim. On Tuesday (30/06/2026), he was officially found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The French news agency AFP, as reported by Channel News Asia (CNA), detailed 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 approximately US$120 million (around IDR 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 an additional prison sentence,” wrote the site in an article titled “Indonesia’s Former Minister and Goint Founder Gets 10-year Jail for Corruption”.
“This case represents an extraordinary shift for the Ivy League-educated founder of the ride-hailing app Gojek, who was once considered an icon of the Indonesian tech startup scene,” it added.
“Nadiem, 41, became one of the youngest members of the Cabinet in this country in 2019 and served as the Minister of Education until 2024,” it further reported.
Reuters reported similarly, though it noted that Nadiem has denied the allegations, claiming that the case against him is politically motivated.
“The verdict has the potential to further weaken investor confidence in Indonesia,” the outlet added in an article titled “Indonesia’s Makarim Gojek Founder Former Minister Found Guilty”.
“The Rupiah and stocks have declined this year following downgraded prospects from credit rating agencies due to concerns regarding unpredictable policymaking and governance, while MSCI index providers are considering whether to downgrade the Indonesian economy due to concerns about market transparency,” the report continued.
Meanwhile, the Singaporean publication, The Straits Times, reported that Google is also implicated in this case, although Google has not yet been charged.
Referring to the judge, the publication wrote that “the defendant did not abstain or recuse himself.” It was also reported that the judge found Nadiem “actively signed regulations that benefited the Google ecosystem despite a conflict of interest”.
“The court also rejected Nadiem’s claim that he merely supported decisions made by his subordinates, describing him instead as the ‘apex 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, chanting words such as “unjust” and “free Nadiem”.