Google denies involvement in $125 million Chromebook graft case in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Former Google executives on Monday denied the company’s involvement in a massive procurement project at Indonesia’s Education Ministry that prosecutors say caused $125 million in state losses.

Nadiem Anwar Makarim, 41, a co-founder of Indonesia's ride-hailing and payment company Gojek, 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.

The laptop procurement was part of the government’s digitalization of schools.

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 ($48.2 million) 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.

Sengupta also denied the charges.

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’ pricing

Makarim, a Harvard University graduate, co-founded Gojek in 2009, and remained until 2019, when the company was valued at over $10 billion. He stepped down to join the cabinet of former Indonesia President Joko Widodo.

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.

He faces a possible sentence of life imprisonment.

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.