An Indonesian court has sentenced the founder of aquaculture tech firm eFishery to nine years in prison following an investigation into the company’s finances.
The Indonesia-based company, which operated an online platform supporting shrimp farming operations, soared to prominence off a valuation surpassing USD 1 billion (EUR 851,860,551) in 2023, raising hundreds of millions of dollars from investors keen to attach themselves to the lucrative company.
However, the company’s fortunes took a sharp turn following an investigation into financial irregularities, which it said revealed financial performance and revenue discrepancies linked to its founders. In December 2024, Co-Founder and CEO Gibran Huzaifah and Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Christna Aditya were both suspended. Together, they held 9 percent of eFishery’s shares.
"We are fully aware of the significance of this matter and are giving it our full attention. eFishery remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical business practices," a statement from the company said at the time.
The challenges facing the company continued to escalate, and in July 2025 Huzaifah was detained by Indonesian police in their investigation into embezzlement. He later admitted to Bloomberg that he had manipulated eFishery’s financial reports for years to stave off the company’s collapse, reporting profits instead of the significant losses it was taking.
On 29 April, an Indonesian court sentenced Huzaifah to nine years in jail after finding him guilty of embezzlement and money laundering, according to Bloomberg. He was also ordered to pay IDR 1 billion (USD 57,759, EUR 49,188). Prosecutors had originally recommended a 10-year jail sentence.
“If, in leading a company scaling and evolving so rapidly, I am accused of making administrative errors, I am ready to be held accountable civilly,” Gibran said during an earlier plea hearing, according to Bloomberg. “Sentencing me to 10 years in prison for a crime where the intent, the act, and the personal flow of funds were never proven, is an injustice that will destroy the precedent for any child of the nation who wants to innovate.”
Bloomberg reported two other former managers were also sentenced to jail time; nine years for former Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations Angga Hadrian Raditya, and seven years for former Vice President of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things Andri Yadi. Both were also fined IDR 1 billion.
