Ex-Indonesian minister on trial over $125-B laptop deal
JAKARTA, Indonesia—An Indonesian court on Monday opened the trial of a cofounder of the country’s ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure Google Chromebook laptops for schools.
Nadiem Anwar Makarim, 41, was an education, culture, research and technology minister when he was arrested on Sept. 7. His arrest came during an investigation by the attorney general’s office in Jakarta into an alleged $125-billion corruption scandal linked to the project.
The laptop procurement initiated under the government’s “digitalization of schools” policy aimed to equip schools in remote areas with digital devices and infrastructure.
‘Favored’ Chromebook
Makarim, who was education minister between 2019 and 2024, allegedly favored Google’s Chromebook despite a ministry research team refusing to recommend the laptop model due to ineffectiveness in regions lacking internet access.
The indictment claims Makarim steered the nationwide procurement in 2020–2021 “entirely for personal business interests.” Prosecutors said he pressed Google to invest in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, known as PT AKAB. The company is the parent of Gojek.
Makarim received about 809 billion rupiah ($48.2 million) in connection with the program, prosecutors claimed.
Life imprisonment
He faces a possible sentence of life imprisonment for causing state losses and misusing public funds under Indonesia’s 2001 Corruption Law.
“The procurement ignored proper pricing benchmarks and technical needs, especially for remote or under-resourced regions,” lead prosecutor Muhammad Fadli Paramajeng told a panel of three judges at Jakarta’s Corruption Court on Monday.
The purchase of more than 1.2 million Chromebooks was designed to strengthen Google’s dominance in Indonesia’s education tech ecosystem and linked to subsequent Google investments of about $787 million in PT AKAB through Google Asia-Pacific, he said.
Tech CEO
Makarim, a Harvard University graduate, was a tech CEO who co-founded Gojek in 2009 and remained until 2019, when the company was valued at over $10 billion. He stepped down to join the Cabinet of former Indonesia President Joko Widodo.
Prosecutors allege his resignation from PT AKAB and Gojek was a “strategic concealment” to mask conflicts of interest while Makarim appointed close associates as directors and “beneficial owners,” allowing him to maintain indirect control over company decisions.
Divestment
Makarim has denied the allegations, saying he did not personally receive funds from the Chromebook procurement or related services.
