Judge Says Google Was Intended Beneficiary in Chromebook Corruption Case, Nadiem Sentenced to 10 Years

The panel of judges at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court has stated that the corporation Google was the intended party to profit from the corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek). This conclusion was delivered by the panel of judges while reading out the sentencing considerations for former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim, who was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in prison. Presiding Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah stated that the conclusion was based on a series of evidence revealed during the trial. “Considering that based on the series of evidence revealed in the trial, the Panel of Judges is of the opinion that the party targeted to benefit in this case is the corporation Google, including Google Asia Pacific and Google International, as the global corporation that owns the Chrome OS, Google Cloud, and Chrome Device Management products which were the objects of the education digitalisation policy for the period 2019 to 2022,” said Purwanto while reading the verdict at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court on Tuesday, 30 June 2026. In its considerations, the panel of judges assessed the existence of a strategic relationship between Nadiem and Google’s executive ranks since the beginning of his tenure as minister. The judge noted that Nadiem admitted to having met the President of Google Asia Pacific, Scott Beaumont. During the meeting, several programmes were discussed, ranging from Google Bangkit, Google for Education, to the implementation of Chromebooks. Furthermore, the panel also revealed a meeting between Nadiem and Caesar Sengupta, a senior Google executive who was then serving in the Asia Pacific region. The judge noted that Caesar Sengupta later served as a Commissioner of PT Gojek Tokopedia in 2021. “The series of meetings with Google executives demonstrates a substantial strategic relationship between the defendant as Minister and the corporation Google that goes beyond ordinary meetings between public officials and technology companies,” the judge said. The panel of judges also highlighted Google’s investment in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB) as part of the considerations in the case.