Nadiem Makarim's Plea: Rejecting the 'White-Collar Criminal' Narrative in Chromebook Corruption Case
The former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (2019–2024), Nadiem Makarim, expressed his distress over the ‘white-collar criminal’ label applied to him by Public Prosecutors during his plea statement at the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday (2/6/2026). The trial pertains to alleged corruption in the procurement of Chromebook laptops.
Nadiem argued that the narrative emerged because the prosecutors failed to prove any illegal fund flows into his personal accounts throughout the five-month trial. He was accused of exploiting his intelligence and bureaucratic loopholes for personal gain in the Chromebook procurement project.
“I am accused of being too clever for corruption that is visible on the surface. If I were committing corruption, the disguise would have to be so masterful that neither I nor the prosecutors would understand the modus operandi,” Nadiem stated before the panel of judges.
In his defence, the Gojek founder emphasised that there is no material evidence showing him receiving any profit in the form of money or shares from the education digitalisation project. He cited reports from the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), which found no suspicious transactions.
“There is no report from PPATK stating that I received even a single penny or share from the ministry, laptop vendors, CDM resellers, Google, PT Gojek Indonesia, or GoTo. There is none,” he asserted.
Nadiem also questioned the logic of the indictment, which claims he planned massive corruption from the start of his tenure. He instead highlighted his decision to invite external institutions to oversee the project.
“What kind of corruptor would invite three external institutions to audit the results of their corruption?” he remarked.
Previously, prosecutors demanded an 18-year prison sentence for Nadiem Makarim, along with a fine of Rp1 billion, or an additional 190 days in prison. Furthermore, Nadiem was ordered to pay restitution of Rp5.67 trillion, or an alternative 9-year prison term.
In this case, Nadiem is accused of causing state financial losses amounting to Rp2.18 trillion related to the Chromebook and Chrome Device Management (CDM) procurement for the 2020-2022 fiscal years. Prosecutors allege that Nadiem received funds totalling Rp809.59 billion from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) via PT Gojek Indonesia, linked to investments from Google.
Nadiem is indicted alongside three others—Ibrahim Arief, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih—as well as one fugitive, Jurist Tan. Under the indictment, Nadiem faces charges under Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of the Law on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes.