INDONESIA’S anti-corruption court sentenced one of the co-founders of ride-hailing giant Gojek to 10 years in prison today after finding him guilty in a case stemming from his time as education minister.

Nadiem Anwar Makarim was convicted of pushing his ministry to buy Google Chromebook laptops for schools during the pandemic as Google was considering an investment in Gojek’s parent company.

The court ordered him to repay 809 billion rupiah (£33.9 millon) and imposed a fine of 1bn rupiah (£42,000).

The presiding judge said the defendant had “abused his authority” and that his actions were “deliberate, structured and systematic.”

Following the verdict, Mr Makarim criticised what he called an excessive punishment and vowed to appeal.

He said: “There is not a single part of the accusation by the prosecution that has not been refuted.”

The sentence was below the 18 years sought by prosecutors.

A dissenting judge argued there was not enough evidence and Mr Makarim should be acquitted.