Judge Says Nadiem's Chromebook Policy Benefited Google
The procurement of Chromebooks and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) for the 2019-2022 period benefited Google.
This was revealed by the Panel of Judges at the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court while reading the verdict against the defendant, former Minister of Education Nadem Makarim, on Tuesday, 30 June 2026.
Chief Judge Purwanto Abdullah, while reading the legal considerations of the verdict, stated that the intention to benefit Google was evident from a series of strategic meetings between the defendant, Nadiem Makarim, during his tenure as minister and the company’s executive leadership since the beginning of his term.
“The objective of benefiting Google as a corporation is visible from the series of strategic meetings between the defendant Nadiem, as minister, and Google’s executive ranks since the start of his term,” he said.
According to the panel of judges, the Google in question includes Google Asia Pacific and Google International as the corporations owning the Chrome Operating System (OS), Google Cloud, and Chrome Device Management, which were part of the Kemendiklarristek education digitalisation policy.
The panel of judges revealed that based on Nadiem’s testimony in court, in February 2020, he met with the former President of Google Asia Pacific, Scott Beaumont, to discuss the Google Bangkit program, Google for Education, and the implementation of Chromebooks in several countries.
Purwanto stated that Nadiem held an online meeting with a Google representative, Caesar Sengupta, in April 2020 to discuss Chromebooks. During the trial, Nadiem explained that Caesar was a high-ranking Google official who was previously tasked with marketing Chromebooks in the Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia.
“Then in 2021, Mr Caesar Sengupta served as a Commissioner of PT Gojek Tokopedia,” he noted.
The panel of judges assessed that this series of meetings demonstrated a substantial strategic relationship between Nadiem and Google that went beyond the ordinary relationship between a public official and a technology company.
Furthermore, the judges stated that the intention to benefit Google was also reflected in the company’s investment in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB), which later became part of PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk, during Nadiem’s tenure as minister.
According to the testimony of the Legal Director and Corporate Secretary of PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk, RA Kusuma Hadiani, Google’s total investment in PT AKAB throughout 2017-2021 reached 786.99 million US dollars.