SAP’s $222 million fine: Unraveling the bribery web in South Africa, Tanzania, and others

The United States recently slapped a $222 million fine on the German software company SAP on the grounds of bribery. The company was alleged to have attempted to bribe government officials from several African countries. The bribes were said to come in the form of cash, political donations, luxury goods, and shopping sprees.

The court documents show that SAP made a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the department concerning a criminal complaint that was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia and accused the organization on two counts of “conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery and books and records provisions of the FCPA relating to its scheme to pay bribes to South African officials, and conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provision of the FCPA for its scheme to pay bribes to Indonesian officials,” as seen in the website of the US’s Department of Justice.

The Scheme dates back to 2014 and is said to have run for almost a decade, as it came to a halt in 2022. The Department of Justice noted that the scheme involved several African countries, numbering around 5, including South Africa, and Tanzania.

“SAP paid bribes to officials at state-owned enterprises in South Africa and Indonesia to obtain valuable government business,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Source: Business Insider