Ex-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 the co-founder of startup Gojek, Nadiem Makarim, over alleged improper laptop procurement during the pandemic that led to $125.64 million in state losses.

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

Makarim had created tender specifications that only fit the Chrome system to “make Google the sole controller of education ecosystem in Indonesia”, prosecutors said.

The charges against Makarim carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Makarim has denied wrongdoing, his lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir told reporters, adding that the prosecutors’ case lacks strong evidence. Amir 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 Tokopedia in 2021. The combined company, PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office arrested Makarim in September for his role in the case, along with several top officials at the ministry.

The Chromebook laptops were purchased even though the ministry had determined in 2018 that their use for learning requires an internet connection, making them incompatible for Indonesia, where internet availability is a major issue in remote areas, prosecutors told the court.

The ministry still went ahead with the purchase of Chromebooks after Makarim met with representatives of Google Asia Pacific and Google Indonesia several times in 2020, prosecutors said.

Makarim’s lawyer denied that his client had met Google’s representatives.

The prosecutors said Google topped up its investment by $59 million in Gojek’s then-parent company PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB) at about the same time.

Makarim’s wealth has risen by 809 billion rupiah from AKAB, based on his 2022 self-written wealth report to the state, and most of AKAB’s funds came from Google’s investment totalling $787 million, they said.

The ministry’s decision for this tender enriched at least 10 other companies, according to the charge sheet.

($1 = 16,715.0000 rupiah)

(Reporting by Ananda TeresiaEditing by Shri Navaratnam)