Nadiem Heran Google's Legal Team Becomes a Beneficiary in the Verdict

Advocate Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Zaid Mushafi when met after submitting an appeal memo at the Central Jakarta District Court, Wednesday (8/7/2026). ANTARA/Agatha Olivia Victoria

JAKARTA - The legal team of the defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Zaid Mushafi, admitted that they were surprised that the Google company was made one of the parties that benefited from the case of alleged corruption in the Chromebook in the verdict.

According to him, Google is not a party to the procurement and does not sell Chromebooks, which has been proven many times by the facts of the trial.

"Google, let alone being charged, is not even investigated and there is no audit of state financial losses that states that Google received something. Gituloh," said Zaid as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, July 8.

He said the state's financial losses in the Chromebook case occurred from the high price that had no correlation with Google.

Because, he said, in the process of procuring goods and services must go through the e-Catalog under the Government Procurement Policy Agency (LKPP).

"The LKPP based on the facts of the trial admitted that there was no intervention, let alone intervention, only communication with Nadiem in determining the price there was none," he said.

In the ruling related to the Nadiem case, the Corruption Court's Trial Court of Justice at the Central Jakarta District Court stated that the procurement of Chromebooks and Chrome Device Management (CDM) in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) period 2019-2022 benefited Google.

Presiding Judge Purwanto Abdullah, when reading the legal considerations of the verdict at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court, Tuesday (30/6), said that Google's goal was seen from a series of strategic meetings between the defendant Nadiem when he was minister with the company's executive management since the beginning of his term.

"Google's goal as a corporation is seen from a series of strategic meetings between the defendant Nadiem as a minister and Google's executive management since the beginning of his term," said Purwanto.

According to the panel of judges, the Google in question includes Google Asia Pacific and Google International as the corporation that owns the Chrome Operating System (OS), Google Cloud, and CDM which are part of the Kemendikbudristek's education digitization policy.

The panel of judges assessed that the series of meetings Nadiem had while serving as minister with Google showed a substantial strategic relationship between the two that went beyond the usual relationship between public officials and technology companies.

In addition, the judge stated that Google's profitable goal was also reflected in the company's investment in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB), which later became part of PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk, during Nadiem's tenure as minister.

In the case of alleged corruption in the education digitization program in the form of the procurement of Chromebooks and CDM in the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2019-2022, Nadiem was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being proven to have committed corruption.

In addition to imprisonment, he was also sentenced to a fine of Rp1 billion, subsider 190 days in prison, and a substitute money of Rp809.59 billion, subsider five years in prison.

The substitute money was imposed on Nadiem after it was proven that he had received Rp809.59 billion in money from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) through PT Gojek Indonesia. Most of PT AKAB's money came from Google's investment of US$786.99 million.

In that case, Nadiem was proven to have abused his authority, causing a loss of state finances worth IDR 1.56 trillion.

Corruption, among others, was carried out by carrying out the procurement of learning facilities based on information and communication technology in the form of Chromebooks and CDM in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 budget years, which were not in accordance with the procurement planning and procurement principles.

The actions of the founder of one of the technology companies were stated to have been carried out, among others, together with three other defendants who had been sentenced in different trials, namely Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam, Mulyatsyah and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who is currently still at large.

Thus, Nadiem was proven to have violated the crime stipulated in Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law (UU) Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001 jo. Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.