Chromebook Graft Case: Nadiem Denies Meeting Google

January 27, 2026 | 07:35 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Defendant Nadiem Makarim, a defendant in the corruption case surrounding the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops, denied the testimony of witness Ganis Samoedra Murharyono, Google Strategic Partner Manager for Chrome OS at Google Indonesia, during a hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday. Nadiem denied any meetings or communications with Google officials that allegedly took place before the Chromebook procurement process.

Nadiem stated that the witness's statement in the investigation report (BAP) did not align with the facts. He claimed he never met with Google representatives in November 2019, as stated in Ganis's BAP. According to Nadiem, his first meeting with Google took place in February 2020, followed by a follow-up meeting in April in an open forum.

"My first meeting with Google was in February, not November," Nadiem stated during a hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday, January 26, 2026. He stated that the witness had corrected his own statement in the BAP regarding the timing of the meeting.

In addition to the timing issue, Nadiem also denied the witness's statement that he had been informed in March that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology would use Google for Education solutions, including Chromebooks. Nadiem claimed that, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, collaboration with Google was limited to the use of Google Classroom as part of distance learning.

"That had nothing to do with Chromebooks," Nadiem said. He stated that Google was only one of seven partners providing online learning platforms at the time.

During the trial, Nadiem repeatedly asked the witness to confirm his statement, particularly regarding the claim that Colin Marson, a Google executive identified by Ganis, had given Nadiem approval for the use of Chromebooks in March. Ganis maintained his statement, stating that it was in accordance with the police report.

The panel of judges then emphasized that Nadiem's denial had been recorded as the defendant's official stance on the witness's testimony. The judge also repeatedly interrupted Nadiem's statement, which he considered had reached a conclusion, not a question.

At the end of the questioning, Nadiem refuted three points in the witness's testimony: the November 2019 meeting, the March communication with Colin Marson, and the claim that he was directly asked to incorporate Chrome Device Management (CDM) so that Google could profit. Nadiem called these statements untrue and misleading.

"First, there was no interaction with Colin Marson in March, and this is evident from Putri Alam's police report; there is absolutely nothing in Putri Alam's police report. The November meeting was false, and the March meeting was false. And also regarding Colin Marson's request, I would like to formally refute the statement, Your Honor, that is a false statement," Nadiem said in response to the witness's testimony.

The alleged corruption in the education digitalization program, involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, occurred between 2019 and 2022. Nadiem Makarim was charged with corruption that caused state losses of Rp2.18 trillion.

Nadiem allegedly committed the crime along with three other defendants: Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih. One suspect, Jurist Tan, remains at large.

In detail, the state losses caused include the high price of Chromebooks, valued at Rp1.56 trillion, and US$44.05 million, equivalent to Rp621.39 billion, due to the procurement of unnecessary and useless CDMs for the education digitalization program.

Nadiem is suspected of receiving Rp809.59 billion from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) through a US$786.99 million investment from Google. For his actions, Nadiem was charged with violating Article 2 paragraph 1 or Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of the Law on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph 1 point 1 of the Criminal Code.

Read: Chromebook Graft Trial: 30% of Project Revenue Returned to Education Sector

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