Ex-Indonesian minister Makarim faces graft charges over Google laptop procurement

JAKARTA: Indonesian prosecutors on Monday filed corruption charges against former education minister and ‍the co-founder of startup Gojek, Nadiem Makarim, over alleged improper laptop procurement during the pandemic that ⁠led to $125.64 million in state losses.

Makarim, who resigned as chief executive of ride-hailing company Gojek in 2019 to become education minister until 2024, was accused of enriching himself by around 809 billion rupiah ($48.34 ‌million) from ‌the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome OS for schools between 2020 and 2022, prosecutors said in the first ‌trial hearing.