Indonesia Seeks 18-Year Prison Term for Former Education Minister Nadiem Makarim

Prosecutors asked a court on Wednesday to sentence former education minister Nadiem Makarim to 18 years in prison and order him to pay 5.6 trillion rupiah in restitution plus a one billion rupiah fine. The charges center on a contract awarded six years ago to Google for Chromebooks and software licenses intended for students engaged in remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors said the contract, which Mr. Nadiem approved as education minister, resulted in the purchase of laptops at artificially inflated prices with unnecessary software licenses, costing the state 2.1 trillion rupiah, or about $120 million. Officials said many of the laptops could not be used in remote areas.

They described the arrangement as a quid pro quo linked to investments Google had made in Mr. Nadiem's companies years earlier.

Makarim founded Gojek, which grew into a widely used super app in Indonesia often compared to Uber. A Harvard graduate, he later joined the president's cabinet as education minister. He has been in detention for months while the case proceeds. The request for an 18-year sentence and financial penalties came after prosecutors presented their case in court.

Neither Google nor any of its executives have been charged with crimes in connection with the contract. The company has denied any wrongdoing. The case has drawn attention in Indonesia, the world's third-largest democracy, as proceedings continue in the court.