Nadiem Makarims’s Sentence Cut to 9 Years, Appeal to Supreme Court

JAKARTA, Jakartaweekly.com—Chief Judge Subachran Hardi Mulyana sentenced defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim to nine years in prison in the appellate ruling. The sentence is lighter than the first-instance ruling against the former Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Mendikbudristek).

“The court sentences defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim to nine years in prison and a fine of Rp1 billion, which must be paid within one month and may be extended for a maximum of one additional month after the ruling becomes legally binding,” Subachran said during a hearing at the Jakarta High Court on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

If the fine is not paid within the specified period, the defendant’s assets and income may be seized and auctioned to settle the unpaid fine.

If the proceeds from the seizure and auction are insufficient or the seizure and auction cannot be carried out, the unpaid fine will be replaced with 140 days in prison.

The panel of judges also reduced the amount of compensation that Nadiem must pay to Rp548 billion, from Rp809 billion previously. If Nadiem fails to pay the compensation within a maximum of one month, his assets may be seized by prosecutors and auctioned to cover the compensation.

If the seized and auctioned assets are insufficient, Nadiem will face an additional six-year prison sentence.

Two witnesses from GoTo also appeared at the hearing: former President Director Andre Soelistyo and Group Head of Finance & Accounting Adesty Kamelia Usman. Both provided testimony regarding the transaction flow, Nadiem’s share ownership, and the power of attorney issued before Nadiem was inaugurated as a minister.

During the hearing, Adesty explained that the Rp809 billion transaction took place in a single day and was related to the purchase of new shares in PT Gojek Indonesia and the repayment of debt.

In the transaction, PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB), now known as GoTo, first transferred Rp809 billion to PT Gojek Indonesia as payment for the issuance of new shares. PT Gojek Indonesia then returned the same amount to repay its debt to AKAB.

The transaction was part of a restructuring of the subsidiaries ahead of GoTo’s IPO.

The debt arose when AKAB acquired Gojek Indonesia’s assets for Rp1.1 trillion in 2016. At the same time, Gojek Indonesia had around Rp1.7 trillion in debt to its investors. The debt was subsequently transferred to AKAB. After deducting the transaction value, Gojek Indonesia still had around Rp620 billion in debt to PT AKAB.

After the transaction, the remaining debt stood at around Rp620 billion. By 2021, interest and other factors had increased the debt to Rp809 billion.

Andre Soelistyo added that Nadiem did not receive the proceeds from the transaction. He also explained that the Rp809 billion did not come from Google Indonesia, but from available operational funds. The transaction took place in October 2021.

Furthermore, Andre explained that Nadiem’s shareholding in GoTo at the time was below 3.5%. Therefore, Nadiem no longer had a dominant role in the company’s decision-making. He also denied that Nadiem was listed as the beneficial owner.

According to Andre, the beneficial owners listed in 2021 were Andre Soelistyo, Kevin Aluwi, William Tanuwijaya, and Melissa Siska Juminto. He also explained that before Nadiem was inaugurated as a minister, Nadiem had issued an irrevocable power of attorney transferring the voting rights attached to his shares at the General Meeting of Shareholders (GMS) to Andre Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi.

Nadiem to Appeal to Supreme Court

After hearing the appellate ruling, Nadiem Makarim said he would file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. Nadiem said his legal team would seek to have the Supreme Court reconsider the case and acquit him.

Furthermore, Nadiem said he was disappointed that the appellate ruling still found him guilty. According to him, the trial proceedings had established that there was no state financial loss, no flow of funds, and no conflict of interest.

Nadiem also said that the appellate proceedings had established that there was no state financial loss at all.