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Indonesia Detains Ex-Education Minister Nadiem Makarim in Chromebook Procurement Probe

Prosecutors cite a 2021 decree alongside repeated Google contacts as evidence the school laptop tender was skewed, with losses near 2 trillion rupiah.

Overview

  • Investigators named the former minister and Gojek co-founder a suspect on Thursday and ordered a 20-day detention as the graft case proceeds.
  • Prosecutors allege misuse of authority in selecting Google Chromebooks, saying a 2021 decree set specifications that matched only that device.
  • An investigator said Makarim met Google Indonesia representatives six times before the selection, while Google did not immediately comment.
  • The case centers on the government’s school digitalization program valued at about 9.3 trillion rupiah, with estimated state losses of roughly 1.9–1.98 trillion rupiah.
  • Makarim denies wrongdoing and defends the program’s results, as three other suspects were apprehended and prosecutors earlier raided GoTo offices for evidence.