Google testimony challenges key claim in Indonesian corruption trial

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Google’s investment in Indonesia's ride-hailing company GoTo wasn’t in anyway connected to the country’s Education Ministry’s decision to procure Chromebooks for schools during COVID-19 pandemic, former Google executives testified in court on Monday.

The testimony undercut a central allegation by prosecutors in the closely watched corruption trial of Nadiem Anwar Makarim, the co-founder of Gojek and the education minister at the time of the procurement. It took place during the transition to remote learning in schools when classrooms were forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Makarim, 41, was arrested in September following an investigation into the procurement of Chromebook laptops that prosecutors say caused $125 million in state losses.

Scott Beaumont, former president of Google Asia Pacific in 2019-2014, Caesar Sengupta, former general manager and vice president in 2018-2021, and William Florence, a former executive, testified at Jakarta’s Corruption Court on Monday via Zoom.

The case centers on the allegation that Makarim “enriched himself” in connection with the Chromebooks procurement in 2020-2021, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said he pressed Google to invest in PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, known as PT AKAB, the parent company of Gojek.

Makarim, who was education minister in 2019-2024, allegedly favored Google’s Chromebook despite a ministry research team refusing to recommend the laptop model due to ineffectiveness in regions lacking internet access.

The purchase of more than 1.2 million Chromebooks was designed to strengthen Google’s dominance in Indonesia’s educational sector. The program was linked to Google's investments of about $787 million in PT AKAB through Google Asia Pacific, lead prosecutor Muhammad Fadli Paramajeng said.

Makarim received about 809 billion rupiah ($48.2 million) in connection with the program, prosecutors alleged.

Beaumont denied the allegation. “There was no connection at all between Google's investment in GoTo and any of the conversations with the Ministry of Education,” he told the panel of three judges. Makarim's Gojek merged with the country’s biggest e-commerce firm Tokopedia to form the GoTo Group in 2021.

Sengupta also denied the charges.

Google has previously stated that Chromebooks are designed for the realities of the classroom, including those in remote areas. While optimized for the cloud, they are offline-capable even without connectivity. It also said that Google licenses software and does not dictate Chromebooks’ pricing.

Makarim, a Harvard University graduate, co-founded Gojek in 2009, and remained until 2019, when the company was valued at over $10 billion. He stepped down to join the cabinet of former Indonesia President Joko Widodo.

Prosecutors allege his resignation from PT AKAB and Gojek was a “strategic concealment” to mask conflicts of interest while Makarim appointed close associates as directors and “beneficial owners,” allowing him to maintain indirect control over company decisions.

He faces a possible sentence of life imprisonment if found guilty.

Makarim has previously denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not personally receive funds from Chromebook procurement or related services. His defense argued that he divested from PT AKAB upon taking office, his wealth fell by more than 50% during his term and procurement decisions were made by technical teams and officials, not the minister.

The verdict could come as soon as this month. Two former Education Ministry officials and a former tech consultant also were charged in the case, while another staff member remains at large.

Nadiem Anwar Makarim, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia's payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek, reacts before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Nadiem Anwar Makarim, former Education Minister and the co-founder of Indonesia's payments platform and ride hailing company Gojek, center, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure school laptops, is flanked by his parents Nono Anwar Makarim, left, and Atika Algadrie before the start of his trial hearing at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Searchers from several countries scoured the Pacific near the Northern Mariana Islands on Monday for six crew members from a cargo ship that overturned during a typhoon that tore through the U.S. territory.

An HC-130 Hercules crew from the U.S. Air Force 31st Rescue Squadron confirmed Sunday night that the overturned ship spotted Saturday is the cargo ship Mariana, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release. The plane deployed divers and boats.

“If divers locate a viable access point, the team may employ an underwater remotely operated drone to further investigate the vessel,” the guard said.

Debris, including a partially submerged inflatable life raft, was spotted about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of the overturned vessel, the guard said.

Guard air crews continued to search near the Northern Marianas for the missing crew members, whose nationalities weren't released. So far, the guard and partnering agencies from Guam, Japan and New Zealand have covered more than 99,000 square miles (256,000 square kilometers), the guard said.

The Mariana, a 145-foot (44-meter) dry cargo vessel registered in the U.S., suffered engine failure Wednesday as Typhoon Sinlaku bore down on the island chain, which is home to roughly 50,000 people.

After the crew reported that the ship had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, the Coast Guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, the guard said. But contact was lost Thursday. A HC-130 plane launched that morning to conduct a search, but it returned to Guam due to heavy winds.

The Mariana’s last known position was about 140 miles (225 kilometers) north-northwest of Saipan, which is the capital of the Northern Marianas and about 3,800 miles (6,115 kilometers) west of Hawaii.

Typhoon Sinlaku triggered floods, tore off roofs and overturned cars on Saipan. The islands endured roughly 48 hours of fierce winds, which delayed responders’ ability to assess damage and help communities, officials said.

A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane crew assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point flies over an overturned vessel offshore Saipan, Saturday, April 18, 2026, while searching for a missing vessel, the Mariana, that experienced an engine failure April 15. (U.S. Coast Guard/Air Station Barbers Point via AP)