Nadiem's Camp Objects to Tax Expert from Directorate General of Taxes Being Examined in Chromebook Trial
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The legal advisory team for former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim has objected to the appearance of Meidijati, Head of the Subdirectorate for General Tax Provisions and Forced Collection under the Directorate General of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance (Dirjen Pajak Kemenkeu), as a tax expert in the continuation of the trial for the alleged corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops.
“The expert does not meet the qualifications as an expert as stipulated in Article 1 number 51, both letters A and B (New KUHAP), and therefore the expert’s testimony has no legal force as evidence. We request that this be considered by the honourable panel,” stated Nadiem’s legal advisor, Dodi Abdulkadir, during the hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court, on Monday (30/3/2026).
Dodi said that Meidijati’s educational background is not related to taxation.
During the hearing, Meidijati explained her educational background: a Bachelor’s in Economics, Master’s in Public Policy, and Doctorate in Accounting.
“As explained earlier, the expert does not have a degree or academic certificate related to taxation,” said Dodi.
The advocacy team also raised the issue of Meidijati’s background, which does not mention the field of education digitalisation.
The presiding judge, Purwanto S Abdullah, stated that the objection from the advocacy team would be noted.
“Later, regarding other matters, we will focus solely on taxation, and not proceed to matters unrelated to the expert’s expertise,” said Judge Purwanto.
In this case, former Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim, along with three other defendants, is said to have caused state financial losses amounting to Rp 2.1 trillion.
Nadiem is charged with enriching himself by Rp 809 billion.
This figure is said to stem from Google’s investment in Gojek or PT AKAB.
Nadiem is alleged to have abused his authority, making Google the sole controller of ICT procurement, including laptops, in Indonesia’s technology ecosystem.
This was done by directing the procurement study towards a single product, namely Chrome-based devices, which is a Google product.
For their actions, Nadiem and the other defendants face charges under Article 2 Paragraph (1) and Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 as amended and supplemented by Law No. 20 of 2001 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) first of the Criminal Code.