Founder of Indonesian payments platform Gojek arrested in connection with graft probe

Key Points

• Nadiem Anwar Makarim, co-founder of Gojek and former education minister, was arrested in connection with a $115 million corruption scandal related to Google Chromebook laptop procurements for Indonesian schools.
• The investigation focuses on Makarim's role during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically regarding his decision to favor Google Chromebooks despite insufficient recommendations from the ministry's research team.
• The government's project, aimed at digitalizing schools, was valued at 9.3 trillion rupiah ($563 million), with the alleged corruption resulting in an estimated loss of 1.9 trillion rupiah ($115 million) to the state.
• Makarim claims the Chromebook initiative was successful, with over 1 million laptops delivered to schools by 2023, and was taken into custody alongside three other suspects linked to the case.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The co-founder of Indonesia's payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek was arrested Thursday as part of an investigation into an alleged $115 million corruption scandal linked to the government's procurement of Google Chromebook laptops for schools.

Nadiem Anwar Makarim, 41, who was education, culture, research and technology minister at the time of the alleged offenses, was arrested after attending an interview at the Attorney General’s Office.

He was questioned about the investigation, which is focused on his supervisory role as education minister during the transition to remote learning in schools when classrooms were forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Television images showed him being led from the prosecutor’s office in handcuffs and wearing a detainee red vest.

“I didn’t do anything, the truth will come out,” Makarim told a crowd before being placed into a detention vehicle. “God will reveal the truth! For me, throughout my life, integrity is number one, honesty is number one. May God protect me.”

Makarim co-founded Gojek in 2015 and stayed with the company until 2019, when he stepped down from his role to join then-President Joko Widodo’s cabinet.

The laptop procurement project initiated under the government's “digitalization of schools” policy aimed to equip schools in remote areas with digital devices and infrastructure.

Nurcahyo Jungkung Madyo, the director of investigation at the Attorney General’s Office, said the project was worth 9.3 trillion rupiah ($563 million), and the corruption case is believed to have cost the state around 1.9 trillion ($115 million).

Investigators allege that Makarim, who was education minister between 2019 and 2024, favored the Google-based laptop over other similar devices despite the ministry’s research team not recommending the product, citing its ineffectiveness in regions lacking internet access.

Makarim, who has claimed that the Chromebook program was a success, with 97% of more than 1 million laptops procured during his term delivered to 77,000 schools by 2023, was apprehended with three other suspects, including a former education ministry staffer and two former tech company officials.

—-

Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan in Jakarta contributed to this report.