Indonesia’s former education minister and ex-Gojek CEO Nadiem Makarim has been detained as a suspect in a high-profile corruption probe linked to a procurement programme involving Google’s Chromebook laptops, with state losses estimated to be US$120 million.
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Centred on the country’s digital education push from 2019 to 2022, the case took a dramatic turn on Thursday when Nadiem was taken into custody by the Attorney General’s Office after a third round of questioning.
He will be held for 20 days at a detention centre in South Jakarta while the investigation continues.
According to local news outlet Detik, as Nadiem was escorted by officers on Thursday wearing detention garb and handcuffs, he shouted to reporters: “I didn’t do anything. God will protect me, the truth will come out. Allah will know the truth.
“For me, integrity is number one throughout my life. Honesty is No 1. Allah will protect me, God willing.”
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Prosecutors allege the 41-year-old Gojek co-founder – who resigned from the ride-hailing unicorn in 2019 to join former president Joko Widodo’s cabinet – manipulated official regulations to favour Google’s operating system for school laptop procurements.