JAKARTA, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Indonesian prosecutors on Monday filed corruption charges against Nadiem Makarim, a former education minister and co-founder of startup Gojek, accusing him of improperly purchasing laptops during the epidemic, causing the country to lose $125.64 million.
Makarim resigned as chief executive of ride-hailing company Gojek in 2019 to serve as education minister until 2024, prosecutors said at the first trial hearing. He is accused of procuring Chromebook laptops and Chrome OS for schools between 2020 and 2022, earning himself approximately 809 billion rupees ($48.34 million).
Prosecutors said Makarim created bidding specifications that were only suitable for Chrome systems to “make Google the sole controller of Indonesia’s education ecosystem.”
The charges against Makarim carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Makarim’s lawyer, Ari Yusuf Amir, told reporters that Makarim denied wrongdoing, adding that prosecutors’ case lacked strong evidence. Amir said he would ask the court to dismiss the charges.
Alphabet’s Google was not sued and did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Gojek merged with e-commerce Tokopedia in 2021. The merged company, PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Investigators from the attorney general’s office arrested Makarim and several senior ministry officials in September for their role in the case.
Prosecutors told the court that the laptops were purchased despite the Ministry of Education determining in 2018 that Chromebook laptops for use in studies required an internet connection, making them incompatible with Indonesia, where internet availability is a major issue in remote areas.
Prosecutors said the ministry continued to purchase Chromebooks even after Makarim met with representatives from Google Asia Pacific and Google Indonesia multiple times in 2020.
Makarim’s lawyer denied that his client had ever met with a Google representative.
Prosecutors said Google invested an additional $59 million in Gojek’s then-parent company PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB) around the same time.
They said Makarim’s wealth increased by 809 billion rupees from AKAB, which was largely funded by investments totaling $787 million from Google, according to his 2022 self-written wealth report submitted to the state.
According to the charge sheet, the ministry’s decision on the tender benefited at least 10 other companies.
(1 USD = ‌16,715.0000 rupees)
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
