An Indonesian corruption court on Tuesday sentenced former Education Minister Nadiem Makarim, a co-founder of ride-hailing and payments giant Gojek, to 10 years in prison for corruption.
Makarim was found guilty in a case linked to the procurement of Google Chromebooks for schools under the country’s education digitalisation programme that ran from 2019 to 2022.
An education minister from 2019 to 2024, Makarim was also fined 1 billion Indonesian rupiah, about $55,870, and ordered to pay 809.6 billion rupiah in restitution. He faces an additional five-year prison term if he fails to repay the amount.
Prosecutors had demanded an 18-year prison sentence for Makarim, a 1 billion rupiah fine, and restitution of 5.6 trillion rupiah.
Indonesia’s Attorney General named Makarim a suspect in September 2025, alleging that he and other officials steered technical specifications toward Google products under the education digitalisation programme.
In February 2020, Makarim met with representatives from Google Indonesia to discuss Google products, including Chromebooks that could be used by the ministry and students.
“In several meetings, it was finally agreed that Google’s products, namely ChromeOS and Chrome Devices Management, would be used as a procurement project for Information and Communication Technology equipment,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors said this was despite a 2019 assessment by the previous education minister concluding that Chromebooks could not be used effectively in various parts of Indonesia, including remote regions.
They alleged that Makarim subsequently issued technical instructions containing specifications that only matched the ChromeOS system, helping ensure Chromebooks would qualify under the procurement process.
Prosecutors said lower-specification Chromebooks should have cost about 3 million rupiah each but were procured for around 6 million rupiah per unit.
They also said Google’s investment in Gojek’s parent company influenced the procurement of the laptops.
“The trial facts also revealed an alleged conflict of interest, where there was an investment and business debt relationship between the technology provider and the company owned by the Defendant, thus creating an unhealthy symbiosis in the procurement of state goods,” said Public Prosecutor Roy Riady.
Google has denied the allegations, saying that the bulk of its investments in Gojek-related entities occurred before Makarim’s appointment as education minister.
“We have not offered, promised or provided benefits to Ministry of Education officials in exchange for their decision to adopt Google products,” the company said.
The case is among the highest-profile corruption prosecutions involving a former Indonesian minister.
