An Indonesian appeals court has reduced former education minister and Gojek co-founder Nadiem Makarim’s prison sentence from 10 years to nine years, but upheld his corruption conviction over the procurement of Google Chromebook laptops for schools.
The Jakarta High Court delivered its appeal ruling on Sept. 24, cutting one year from the sentence imposed by the lower court in June. The court rejected Makarim’s request to have the charges dismissed, saying the earlier ruling was consistent with the facts, evidence and witness testimony presented during the trial.
The case centers on the procurement of laptops for Indonesian schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prosecutors alleged that Makarim abused his authority by changing procurement requirements in a way that favoured Google Chromebooks and restricted competition.
The original court found that the procurement resulted in significant losses to the Indonesian state. Reuters reported the figure at about US$125 million, while Indonesian court reporting has cited state losses of around 1.57 trillion rupiah.
Along with reducing the prison term, the appeals court lowered Makarim’s restitution obligation. Reuters reported that the amount was reduced from 809 billion rupiah to 548 billion rupiah. Indonesian court reporting put the final restitution figure at about 584.76 billion rupiah, reflecting differences in reporting on the ruling’s financial calculations.
The court also maintained a separate 1 billion rupiah fine. If financial penalties are not paid under the terms of the judgment, Indonesian law provides for additional consequences, including seizure of assets and substitute imprisonment.
Makarim has continued to deny wrongdoing and remains determined to challenge the conviction. After the appeal ruling, he said he was disappointed and indicated that he would take the case to Indonesia’s Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the conviction entirely.
The case has attracted considerable attention because of Makarim’s unusual path from technology entrepreneur to government minister. He co-founded Gojek before entering government in 2019, becoming one of Indonesia’s youngest cabinet ministers. He served as education minister until 2024.
The prosecution has linked the alleged procurement irregularities to a broader arrangement involving Gojek and Google. However, Google has not been charged in the case and has denied wrongdoing. GoTo Group, formed through the merger of Gojek and Tokopedia, has also said Makarim had no decision-making role at the company after leaving in 2019.
Makarim’s legal team previously argued that the lower court had overlooked evidence presented during the trial and raised concerns about the implications of the case for private-sector executives who enter government service.
The appeal ruling therefore reduces the punishment but does not resolve the central legal dispute. Makarim still faces a nine-year prison sentence, the financial penalties imposed by the court and another potential round of proceedings before Indonesia’s Supreme Court.
The bigger question now is whether the Supreme Court will overturn Makarim’s conviction entirely or uphold the appeal court’s ruling, bringing the high-profile Chromebook procurement case closer to its final legal outcome.
