Indonesia detains former Minister and Gojek founder Nadiem Makarim in graft probe
Indonesian prosecutors have named Nadiem Makarim, the co-founder of ride-hailing giant Gojek and former education minister, as a suspect in a major corruption case linked to laptop procurement.
Makarim, who served as minister from 2019 to 2024, is accused of misusing his authority to benefit himself or others in the purchase of Google’s Chromebook laptops for schools. Investigators say the scheme caused state losses of 1.98 trillion rupiah ($121.9 million), News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
He was detained on Thursday for an initial 20-day period as the investigation continues, according to the attorney general’s office. Officials allege Makarim issued a 2021 decree specifying procurement requirements that favored Chromebooks, after meeting with Google Indonesia representatives six times.
Google has not commented, while Makarim’s lawyer did not respond to requests for a statement.
Makarim co-founded Gojek in 2010 before leaving the company to join government. In 2021, Gojek merged with Tokopedia to form GoTo, Indonesia’s largest tech firm.
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