Video shows Indonesian investigators searching former ministry staff’s flats, not residence of ex-minister

"Arrogant toward teachers, former Ministry of Education and Culture official now a fugitive in a corruption case," reads an Indonesian-language SnackVideo post shared on May 28, 2025.

The video, which shows investigators entering and searching through a flat, is overlaid with text that says Nadiem is "suspected of being involved in corruption related to a laptop procurement worth nearly 10 trillion Indonesian rupiah (US$614 million)".

"The Attorney General’s Office, escorted by the military, searched Nadiem's apartment and found several pieces of evidence," it adds, before concluding that the former minister is being "pursued" by the Attorney General's Office and his whereabouts are unknown.

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Screenshot of the false SnackVideo post, captured on June 11, 2025

The video surfaced after the AGO opened a corruption investigation into the ministry of education and culture's procurement of Chromebook laptops worth 10 trillion rupiah between 2019 and 2022, which were meant to support the digitalisation of public schools. Nadiem led the ministry from 2019 until 2024 (archived link).

AGO spokesman Harli Siregar said there are "strong indications of a conspiracy in the procurement process", with tests showing the laptops were ineffective in areas lacking reliable internet access, according to a report in the Jakarta Globe (archived link).

"Roughly 1,000 Chromebooks had previously been tested and showed poor performance, yet the procurement went ahead," he said.

Similar posts claiming the video showed authorities searching Nadiem's flat were also shared elsewhere on SnackVideo as well as on Facebook.

"Arrest them and throw them in jail along with the ones who appointed them -- for 55 years," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "Seize their assets, make them poor, and lock them up. Cut off the hands of corrupt officials as a deterrent if necessary. Enough is enough!"

But as of June 12, the AGO has not conducted a search of Nadiem's flat.

Flats of former staff

"We never stated that Nadiem Makarim's apartment was searched, let alone that he has been listed as a fugitive," AGO spokesperson Harli told AFP on June 10.

He added the agency had searched three residences belonging to the minister's former staff, and those individuals had been banned from travelling.

Nadiem's legal counsel, Muhamad Ali Nurdin, separately stated at a press conference on June 10 that no search had been conducted of his client's residence (archived link).

"The search never happened," he said.

A keyword search on Google led to some of the same footage used in the false posts in a YouTube video published on May 29 by local broadcaster MetroTV (archived link).

The video is titled, "Attorney General's Office Searches 2 Apartments of Former Minister of Education and Culture's Staff."

Overlaid text on the MetroTV video reads, "Attorney General’s Office searches 2 apartments belonging to staff members of the former Minister of Education and Culture". Nowhere in the video does it say the flats belonged to Nadiem.

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Screenshot comparison of falsely shared video (left) and MetroTV's video (right)

The AGO spokesperson told AFP on June 12 that all three suspects owned their own flats.

AFP has debunked other false claims related to corruption probes in Indonesia.