Former Google executives have denied the company's involvement in a corruption case tied to Indonesia’s Education Ministry. Prosecutors say the project caused $125 million in state losses. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, a co-founder of ride-hailing app Gojek and former education minister, was arrested in September.
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This Utah Republican isn't listeningEddie Murphy receives life achievement award by AFI, drawing standing ovation at star-filled tributeAP Entertainment WireOil prices rise anew after a US-Iran standoff in the Strait of Hormuz strands tankers1 million bees make for bumper-to-buzzer traffic on a Tennessee highway rampFatou, the world's oldest gorilla living in captivity, celebrates her 69th birthday at Berlin ZooWorking unseen to frame risk and ritual in a conflict-zone funeralYou can put beef tallow and salmon sperm on your face. But should you?Easily distracted? How to improve your attention spanUS ice cream makers say they'll stop using artificial dyes by 2028AI is a gold mine for spammers and scammers, but Google is using it as a tool to fight backTo make hosting less stressful, strive for connection and not perfectionPope prays at Catholic shrine in Angola that was a center of African slave tradeFauna y vegetación en el paisaje radiactivo de Chernóbil muestran la resiliencia de la naturaleza This Utah Republican isn't listeningEddie Murphy receives life achievement award by AFI, drawing standing ovation at star-filled tributeAP Entertainment WireOil prices rise anew after a US-Iran standoff in the Strait of Hormuz strands tankers1 million bees make for bumper-to-buzzer traffic on a Tennessee highway rampFatou, the world's oldest gorilla living in captivity, celebrates her 69th birthday at Berlin ZooWorking unseen to frame risk and ritual in a conflict-zone funeralYou can put beef tallow and salmon sperm on your face. But should you?Easily distracted? How to improve your attention spanUS ice cream makers say they'll stop using artificial dyes by 2028AI is a gold mine for spammers and scammers, but Google is using it as a tool to fight backTo make hosting less stressful, strive for connection and not perfectionPope prays at Catholic shrine in Angola that was a center of African slave tradeFauna y vegetación en el paisaje radiactivo de Chernóbil muestran la resiliencia de la naturalezaWorld NewsNadiem Anwar Makarim, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek, center, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, is flanked by his parents Nono Anwar Makarim, left, and Atika Algadrie before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, center, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, is flanked by his parents Nono Anwar Makarim, left, and Atika Algadrie before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, right, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, talks to his wife Franka Franklin Makarim before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek, reacts before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek, center, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, is flanked by his parents Nono Anwar Makarim, left, and Atika Algadrie before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek, center, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, is flanked by his parents Nono Anwar Makarim, left, and Atika Algadrie before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, center, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, is flanked by his parents Nono Anwar Makarim, left, and Atika Algadrie before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, center, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, is flanked by his parents Nono Anwar Makarim, left, and Atika Algadrie before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, right, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, talks to his wife Franka Franklin Makarim before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, right, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, talks to his wife Franka Franklin Makarim before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek, reacts before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia’s payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek, reacts before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. was arrested in September as a former education minister following an investigation into the alleged corruption linked to the procurement of Chromebook laptops. Scott Beaumont, former president of Google Asia Pacific in 2019-2014, Caesar Sengupta, former general manager and vice president in 2018-2021, and William Florence, a former executive, testified at Jakarta’s Corruption Court on Monday via Zoom.Makarim, who was education minister between 2019 and 2024, allegedly favored Google’s Chromebook despite a ministry research team refusing to recommend the laptop model due to ineffectiveness in regions lacking internet access. Makarim is accused of abusing his authority by steering the nationwide procurement in 2020–2021 “entirely for personal business interests,” prosecutors said. They said he pressed Google to invest in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, known as PT AKAB, the parent company of Gojek.The purchase of more than 1.2 million Chromebooks was designed to strengthen Google’s dominance in Indonesia’s educational sector. The program was linked to Google’s investments of about $787 million in PT AKAB through Google Asia Pacific, lead prosecutor Muhammad Fadli Paramajeng said.Makarim received about 809 billion rupiah in connection with the program, prosecutors alleged. Beaumont denied the allegation. “There was no connection at all between Google’s investment in GoTo and any of the conversations with the Ministry of Education,” he told the panel of three judges. Makarim’s Gojek merged with the country’s biggest e-commerce firm Tokopedia to form the GoTo Group in 2021.Google has previously stated that Chromebooks are designed for the realities of the classroom, including those in remote areas. While optimized for the cloud, they are offline-capable even without connectivity. It also said that Google licenses software and does not dictate Chromebooks’ pricingand remained until 2019, when the company was valued at over $10 billion. He stepped down to join the cabinet of former Indonesia President Prosecutors allege his resignation from PT AKAB and Gojek was a “strategic concealment” to mask conflicts of interest while Makarim appointed close associates as directors and “beneficial owners,” allowing him to maintain indirect control over company decisions.Makarim has previously denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not personally receive funds from Chromebook procurement or related services. Makarim’s defense lawyers argued that he divested from PT AKAB upon taking office, his wealth fell by more than 50% during his term and procurement decisions were made by technical teams and officials, not the minister. The verdict could come as soon as this month. Two former Education Ministry officials and a former tech consultant also were charged in the case, while another staff member remains at large.
Inc. Indonesia Laptops General News Asia Pacific Government Programs Caesar Sengupta Law Enforcement Business Indonesia Government Software Scott Beaumont Corruption William Florence Corporate Management World News Joko Widodo Information Technology Muhammad Fadli Paramajeng World News
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