The verdict of the former Director of BRI Ventura has caused investor concerns, business risks are said to be criminalized

JAKARTA - The guilty verdict handed down by the Central Jakarta District Court against former BRI Ventura executive, Nicko Widjaja, has sparked concerns about the venture capital investment climate and the future of startup funding in Indonesia.

In the ruling read on Thursday, June 18, 2026, Nicko was found guilty in a case that began with a decision on venture capital investments.

Shortly after the verdict was handed down, he delivered an open letter to President Prabowo Subianto highlighting the line between business risk and criminal corruption.

"Today I was found guilty of an act that was based on good faith and a good process," Nicko wrote in the letter.

The case that ensnared Nicko highlights a terrible legal precedent for venture capitalists. Based on his letter, this case is rooted in investment decisions that are fully regulated by the Financial Services Authority Regulation (POJK) Number 35 of 2015.

The investment, claimed Nicko, was carried out through a legitimate business process and complies with the company's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

However, the business failure that occurred years after the investment was actually constructed by law enforcement as a corruption crime.

Ironically, the fact of the trial actually reveals a paradoxical reality.

In his letter, Nicko emphasized that the court's decision proved that he had never received a penny of funds, gifts, let alone reaped personal profits.

He was also proven to have no conflict of interest with the portfolio companies he funded.

"What happened is the business risk that is inherent in the venture capital sector itself. If we, at BRI Ventura, who have good governance can be convicted, how about the others?," Nicko wrote in his writing.

Nicko's warning in his letter is not just a figment of the imagination.

The venture capital sector is essentially a business with high risk (high risk, high return).

Around the world, the startup failure rate is very high, and it is part of the investment calculation.

If every failure of a portfolio business is considered detrimental to the country and labeled as corruption, then the "winter" (tech winter) for Indonesian startups will turn into a permanent ice age.

This was also underlined by Nicko in his letter to the Head of State.

"What I am worried about is not only about myself, but the impact on the venture capital sector, start-ups, and the younger generation of Indonesians," he said.

Nicko said that this concern is consistent with his thesis when he participated in the National Defense cohort program in June 2024.

The criminalization of good faith in investment, according to Nicko, will create a chilling effect.

Capitalists will be afraid to liquidate funds, innovators will hesitate to start businesses, and new business models will die before they can grow.

In the end, Indonesia's young generation will lose crucial access to funding.

Closing his letter, Nicko conveyed a great hope for the Prabowo Subianto government regarding more just law enforcement and a vision of an advanced economy.

"I hope that we can become a country that is able to distinguish between corruption and business risks, so that the courage to innovate and entrepreneurship can continue to grow for the progress of the nation. I believe in their future," he explained.