JAKARTA, Jan 5 (GeokHub) — Indonesian prosecutors have filed corruption charges against former education minister and Gojek co-founder Nadiem Makarim over alleged irregularities in the procurement of laptops for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing him of causing more than $125 million in state losses.
Prosecutors told a Jakarta court on Monday that Makarim, who served as education minister from 2019 to 2024, abused his authority by steering a government laptop tender toward Google’s Chrome operating system between 2020 and 2022.
According to the charge sheet, Makarim is accused of enriching himself by approximately 809 billion rupiah ($48.34 million) through the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome OS for use in Indonesian schools.
Tender Allegations and Google Meetings
Prosecutors said the tender specifications were designed to fit only Chrome-based devices, effectively giving Google exclusive control over Indonesia’s education technology ecosystem.
They added that the education ministry proceeded with the purchases despite an earlier internal assessment in 2018 that Chromebooks were unsuitable for many parts of Indonesia due to limited internet access, particularly in remote regions.
The court heard that the procurement went ahead after Makarim allegedly held several meetings in 2020 with representatives from Google Asia Pacific and Google Indonesia.
Makarim’s lawyer, Ari Yusuf Amir, denied the allegations, saying his client never met Google representatives and had committed no wrongdoing. He said the defence would ask the court to dismiss the charges, arguing prosecutors lacked solid evidence.
Investment Links Scrutinised
Prosecutors also pointed to Google’s additional $59 million investment in Gojek’s then-parent company, PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB), during the same period. They said Makarim’s declared wealth rose by 809 billion rupiah, largely tied to funds from Google’s total investment of about $787 million in AKAB.
Google was not charged in the case and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, formed after Gojek merged with Tokopedia in 2021, also did not immediately comment.
Potential Sentence
Makarim was arrested in September along with several senior officials from the education ministry. The corruption charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors said the laptop procurement also benefited at least 10 other companies, according to court documents.
