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View all search resultsFormer minister Nadiem accused of abuse of authority in Chromebook graft case
Former education, culture, research and technology minister Nadiem Makarim allegedly abused his authority to rig a tender for a milti-trillion-rupiah school digitalization project that would favor tech company Google, according to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
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Former education, culture, research and technology minister Nadiem Makarim (center) walks out of the Attorney General's Office (AGO) building in Jakarta on Sept. 4, 2025. The AGO named former education, culture, research and technology minister Nadiem Makarim a suspect in a corruption case pertaining to the procurement of Chromebook laptops for schools across the country during his ministerial tenure, which was estimated to have caused around Rp 1.9 trillion (US$11 million) in state losses. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S.)
T
he Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has named former education, culture, research and technology minister Nadiem Makarim a suspect in a corruption case pertaining to the procurement of Google Chromebook laptops at the then-education ministry between 2019 and 2022.
The suspect naming was announced during a press briefing on Thursday, the same day AGO investigators summoned the former minister for questioning as a witness in the case. Nadiem went to the AGO building in South Jakarta accompanied by renowned lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, who has been representing him in the case.
“Based on findings and supporting evidence, we have named a new suspect with the initials NAM,” said assistant attorney general for extraordinary crimes (Jampidsus) investigation director Nurcahyo Jungkung Madyo at the press briefing.
According to the AGO, Nadiem had a meeting in February 2020 with representatives of Google Indonesia to talk about the tech company’s products that could be used by the education ministry to support students’ learning process.
After meeting several times, both parties allegedly agreed to use Google products in a so-called school digitalization project to equip schools in remote areas with digital devices and infrastructure.
In May 2020, Nadiem allegedly held a virtual meeting with several ministry officials to talk about the procurement of Google Chromebook laptops, despite the fact that the education ministry had not started any plan to procure such equipment.
The then-minister also picked Google laptops despite a study from the ministry’s research team that discouraged purchasing the computer because of the device’s ineffectiveness in regions lacking internet access.
