Nadiem Makarim Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison, Judge Rules Chromebook Procurement Benefited Google
The Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, to 10 years in prison. The panel of judges found Makarim guilty of corruption in the procurement of Chromebooks and Chrome Device Management (CDM) for the period 2019-2022, a policy deemed to have benefited the corporation Google.
Presiding Judge Purwanto Abdullah stated that the education digitalisation policy systematically favoured Google Asia Pasifik and Google International as the owners of the Chrome OS and Google Cloud ecosystem. This strategic relationship was established through a series of meetings between Nadiem and Google executives from the beginning of his tenure. “The objective of benefiting Google as a corporation is evident from the series of strategic meetings between the defendant Nadiem, in his capacity as minister, and Google executives since the start of his term,” Purwanto said.
In addition to the prison sentence, Nadiem was ordered to pay a fine and restitution. The panel of judges highlighted a correlation between the Chromebook procurement policy and Google’s investment in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB), which is now part of PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk. Based on witness testimony from RA Kusuma Hadiani, Google’s total investment in PT AKAB from 2017 to 2021 reached US$786.99 million. The judges noted that a significant portion of this investment entered during Nadiem’s ministerial term, specifically in March 2020, May 2021, September 2021, and October 2021. “The correlation between the timing of Google’s investment and the defendant’s term of office, along with the Chromebook procurement policy, indicates a connection that cannot be considered coincidental,” the judge asserted.
The panel of judges concluded that Nadiem abused his authority and violated government procurement principles. The corruption was carried out jointly with three other defendants, Ibrahim Arief, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as one individual who remains at large, Jurist Tan. Nadiem was found to have violated Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of the Corruption Eradication Law, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code. Following the verdict, Nadiem Makarim stated he would file an appeal.