TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The legal team of Indonesia's former minister Nadiem Makarim's, represented by Ari Yusuf Amir, responded to the allegations that they mobilized a group of influencers to defend Nadiem Makarim on social media. "Formally, there is no official collaboration, but we did open up and present this case to the public. We elaborated on each detail," said Ari in Jakarta on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
Ari stated that the legal team presented the trial facts regarding the alleged corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebooks, which implicated the former Minister of Education, Nadiem Makarim. This case has attracted public attention and online community.
During the sentencing hearing on May 13, 2026, the prosecutor demanded an 18-year prison sentence, a fine of Rp1 billion, and compensation of Rp5.6 trillion from Nadiem. The prosecutor accused Nadiem of committing corruption offenses along with four other suspects in the procurement of Chromebooks.
The prosecutor alleged that Nadiem directed the other suspects to steer the digitalization program in the Ministry of Education towards a particular product, namely the Chromebook, a product of Google. According to the prosecutor, Nadiem chose Chromebook because there had been an agreement between Google and Nadiem, even before Nadiem was appointed as the minister.
The legal team denied all of these allegations, including the claim of Rp809 billion as Nadiem's profit from Google. Nadiem also refuted this claim. Nadiem explained that the funds were a corporate transaction between PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB) and PT Gojek Indonesia, both companies that he founded.
"So, the transaction was between these two companies. PT AKAB injected Rp809 billion in the form of new share issuance in PT Gojek Indonesia, so PT AKAB owned 99.9 percent of PT GI shares," Nadiem Makarim said during the trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday, May 11, 2026. The prosecutor then linked these funds to the investment injection from Google to PT AKAB, which they suspected to be related to the selection of Chromebooks.
Read: Lawyer Confident Nadiem Makarim Will Be Acquitted
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