Jakarta. Former Indonesian education minister and Gojek founder Nadiem Makarim underwent surgery for the fifth time on Wednesday night, only hours after prosecutors demanded an 18-year prison sentence against him in a corruption trial, according to his wife’s Instagram post.

Franka Franklin Makarim said the family was facing a double hardship involving both her husband’s health condition and the corruption case against him.

Nadiem is accused of abusing his authority as education minister to enrich corporations and himself through the procurement of thousands of Chromebook laptops between 2019 and 2022, allegedly causing state losses of Rp 2.18 trillion ($124.5 million).

“Yesterday afternoon he was in court. Last night, Nadiem went into surgery for the fifth time. Between those two moments, all we could do was pray,” Franka wrote on Thursday.

She added that her current focus was supporting her husband’s recovery and ensuring he knew he was not facing the ordeal alone.

“I will not speak about the charges they read out. My husband, with everything he is enduring, is not alone,” she said.

Local media reported that Nadiem has been suffering from a perianal fistula and underwent surgery at Abdi Waluyo Hospital after attending the court hearing.

Nadiem has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, insisting there were no administrative violations or personal enrichment tied to the laptop procurement project.

According to him, the Chromebook procurement process was carried out in accordance with regulations and involved no price manipulation or collusion with private companies.

He also said he did not regret leaving his career as an entrepreneur to join the cabinet of former president Joko Widodo.

“I would never have refused that mandate when it was offered. The risk of failure, the risk of prison -- I would still take it because Indonesia’s future is more important than these risks,” Nadiem said after the hearing.

White Collar Crime
Prosecutors, however, argued that the case reflected a sophisticated white-collar crime scheme in which Nadiem allegedly “exploited bureaucratic loopholes and public office for personal gain.”

Prosecutor Roy Riady said Nadiem used his authority to create a non-transparent decision-making system.

“Instead of strengthening the existing bureaucracy, he created decision-making mechanisms outside formal channels that ultimately benefited certain commercial interests,” Roy said.

Prosecutors also accused Nadiem of deliberately creating a “shadow organization” outside the formal structure of the Ministry of Education to facilitate the laptop procurement process.

In addition, prosecutors questioned what they described as disproportionate increases in Nadiem’s wealth that allegedly did not match his official income as a public official.

The prosecution team further claimed investigators found links between the Chromebook procurement case and alleged fraud schemes involving the management of Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, the company co-founded by Nadiem before it evolved into Gojek.

Prosecutors alleged that a Google investment worth $786 million, or around Rp 11 trillion, was recorded as only Rp 60 billion in administrative reports.

They also criticized Nadiem for declining to exercise his right to provide a reverse burden of proof defense to demonstrate that his assets were acquired legally and transparently.