Former Indonesian minister Makarim faces graft charges over Google laptop procurement

JAKARTA, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Indonesian prosecutors on Monday filed corruption charges against former Education Minister and Gojek co-founder Nadiem Makarim over alleged improper laptop procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in $125.64 million in state losses.

Makarim, who resigned as chief executive of ride-hailing company Gojek in 2019 to serve as education minister until 2024, is accused of enriching himself by around 809 billion rupiah ($48.34 million) through the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome OS for schools between 2020 and 2022, prosecutors said during the first trial hearing.

Prosecutors claim Makarim created tender specifications that only fit the Chrome system to "make Google the sole controller of the education ecosystem in Indonesia." The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Makarim has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer, Ari Yusuf Amir, told reporters that the prosecution's case lacks strong evidence and said he will ask the court to dismiss the charges.

Alphabet's Google was not indicted and did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Gojek merged with e-commerce platform Tokopedia in 2021 to form PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Investigators from the Attorney General's Office arrested Makarim in September, along with several top officials from the ministry, over their roles in the case.

Prosecutors said the ministry purchased Chromebooks even though a 2018 assessment had determined the devices required an internet connection, making them largely incompatible for remote areas in Indonesia where internet access is limited. They also said the ministry went ahead with the purchase after Makarim met several times in 2020 with representatives from Google Asia Pacific and Google Indonesia. Makarim’s lawyer denied that such meetings took place.

The prosecutors added that Google invested an additional $59 million in Gojek’s then-parent company, PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB), around the same period. According to prosecutors, Makarim’s wealth increased by 809 billion rupiah from AKAB, based on his 2022 self-reported wealth declaration, most of which came from Google’s total investment of $787 million.

The tender decision also allegedly benefited at least 10 other companies, prosecutors said.

($1 = 16,715 rupiah)

-Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Shri Navaratnam/Reuters