Gojek co-founder Nadiem Makarim charged over US$125m Chromebook procurement case

Indonesian prosecutors have formally charged former education minister and Gojek co-founder Nadiem Anwar Makarim in a corruption case linked to the procurement of Chromebook laptops for schools, a programme that allegedly caused state losses of IDR 2.18 trillion (US$125 million).

The charges were read out on Monday at the Central Jakarta District Court, marking a major escalation in a case that prosecutors began investigating last year. The procurement, carried out between 2020 and 2022 during the pandemic, involved thousands of Chromebook laptops intended to support digital learning. Prosecutors argue the devices proved largely ineffective in underdeveloped and remote regions due to limited internet access.

Makarim, who resigned as chief executive of ride-hailing firm Gojek in 2019 to serve as education minister until 2024, was named the main defendant. The case has drawn wide attention given his role as one of Indonesia’s most prominent tech founders and a symbol of the country’s startup-driven reform agenda.

Don't miss: Gojek co-founder Nadiem Makarim detained in Indonesia's Chromebook corruption probe

Prosecutor Roy Riady told the court that the procurement process failed to meet basic governance standards. “The acts were committed jointly with Ibrahim Arief, Mulyatsyah, Sri Wahyuningsih, and Jurist Tan,” he said, referring to former senior officials at the education ministry and a technology consultant who are named as co-defendants.

According to prosecutors, the procurement of information and communications technology-based learning tools did not comply with procurement planning requirements or established procurement principles. They allege that technical specifications and needs assessments were not grounded in a credible evaluation of Indonesia’s primary and secondary education conditions, particularly in regions where internet connectivity remains a structural challenge.

The indictment details alleged state losses of IDR 1.56 trillion linked to the ministry’s digitalisation programme, as well as US$44.05 million (around IDR 621.39 billion) from the procurement of Chrome Device Management licences that prosecutors said were unnecessary and delivered no tangible benefit.

Prosecutors also accused Makarim of receiving IDR 809.59 billion originating from Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, Gojek’s parent company prior to its merger with Tokopedia in 2021 to form GoTo Gojek Tokopedia.

In the first trial hearing, prosecutors further alleged that tender specifications were crafted in a way that favoured a single ecosystem. Makarim, they said, had created tender requirements that only matched Google’s operating system to “make Google the sole controller of education ecosystem in Indonesia”.

The Chromebook procurement went ahead despite a 2018 internal assessment by the ministry concluding that such devices require reliable internet access to function effectively. Prosecutors told the court that the ministry proceeded after Makarim allegedly met representatives from Google Asia Pacific and Google Indonesia several times in 2020, an assertion denied by his legal team.

The prosecution also pointed to the timing of Google’s investment activity, noting that Google topped up its investment by US$59 million in Gojek’s then-parent company at around the same period. Based on Makarim’s 2022 self-declared wealth report, prosecutors said his assets increased by IDR 809 billion, while Google’s total investment into the company reached US$787 million.

Makarim has denied all wrongdoing. His lawyer, Ari Yusuf Amir, said the case lacks strong evidence and that the defence would ask the court to dismiss the charges.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Alphabet’s Google was not indicted.

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