“The total amount of R2.2bn is made up of a number of amounts which SAP has voluntarily agreed to repay to a number of SOEs and government departments including Eskom, Transnet, the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane, the Gauteng department of finance, Sars and Prasa. SAP has already repaid the department of water & sanitation under agreements concluded with the SIU.
“Over and above these restitution payments, SAP will pay R750m into South Africa’s criminal assets recovery account as punitive reparation payments, in recognition of the social and economic harm caused by its conduct in South Africa.”
The NPA said this payment would be credited against a total fine of $118.8m (R2.218bn at current exchange rates) to be paid by SAP in the US under the co-ordinated US resolution.
“In addition to these commitments to monetary reparation, SAP South Africa and SAP Global have committed to provide full co-operation to the South African authorities to assist their criminal investigations into the former SAP executives and employees, their intermediaries and the public officials whose corrupt conduct was responsible for the tainted contracts between SAP and organs of state.
“SAP has already conducted its own thorough investigations into the corruption involving its South African executives and shared the fruits of that investigation with the NPA.
“Information, including names of individuals, businesses, details of payment transactions and texts and emails evidencing criminal intent has been made available by SAP to the NPA. The Independent Directorate, working with [the Hawks] and SIU, is considering the evidence.”
The NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit head, and deputy national director of public prosecutions, Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba, said: “The resolution is a bold new step that takes South Africa forward in fighting crime.
“The NPA is committed not only to prosecuting criminals but also contributing to the economic recovery of the country through restitution of the proceeds of crime. Corporate alternative dispute resolutions address both of these mandates of the NPA. The present resolution obliges SAP to return all benefits that it received under the corrupt contracts that it concluded. It also subjects SAP to punitive reparation payments that far exceed any fine the South African courts have ever imposed on a company as a criminal sentence.”
SAP has committed to a local and international corporate compliance programme to prevent future corrupt practices. This includes adoption of risk-based controls and data analytics and investing more resources in compliance.
TimesLIVE
IT giant SAP to pay R2.2bn reparations, helps NPA probe Gupta-linked officials
Image: FREDDY MAVUNDA
The National Prosecuting Authority has welcomed the resolution by software giant SAP to pay R2.2bn in restitution and punitive reparations for its role in Gupta-linked corrupt contracts.
The NPA said it had concluded a landmark corporate alternative dispute resolution with SAP and its South African subsidiary, Systems Applications Products. The resolution follows SAP’s voluntary self-reporting which triggered investigations and legal action taken by the US department of justice (US DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Under the settlement agreement confirmed on Wednesday by a US Federal Court, SAP Global admitted to criminal actions of certain former executives and managers in South Africa in corruption and related offences.
“As a result of these actions, SAP South Africa entered into tainted contracts with Transnet, Eskom the SA Revenue Service, passenger rail entity Prasa, the department of water & sanitation and the Gauteng finance department,” the NPA said.
Several of these tainted contracts were intermediated by the Gupta family companies CAD House (Pty) Ltd, Global Softech Solutions (Pty) Ltd and Lejara Global Solutions (Pty) Ltd, to whom SAP paid aggregate amounts of more than R100m to secure contracts at Transnet, Eskom and Sars.
Parallel action of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been co-ordinated with the NPA’s processes relating to this resolution, the NPA said.
Joburg official's R2.2m SAP bribe diverted to 'unnamed political party'
“The total amount of R2.2bn is made up of a number of amounts which SAP has voluntarily agreed to repay to a number of SOEs and government departments including Eskom, Transnet, the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane, the Gauteng department of finance, Sars and Prasa. SAP has already repaid the department of water & sanitation under agreements concluded with the SIU.
“Over and above these restitution payments, SAP will pay R750m into South Africa’s criminal assets recovery account as punitive reparation payments, in recognition of the social and economic harm caused by its conduct in South Africa.”
The NPA said this payment would be credited against a total fine of $118.8m (R2.218bn at current exchange rates) to be paid by SAP in the US under the co-ordinated US resolution.
“In addition to these commitments to monetary reparation, SAP South Africa and SAP Global have committed to provide full co-operation to the South African authorities to assist their criminal investigations into the former SAP executives and employees, their intermediaries and the public officials whose corrupt conduct was responsible for the tainted contracts between SAP and organs of state.
“SAP has already conducted its own thorough investigations into the corruption involving its South African executives and shared the fruits of that investigation with the NPA.
“Information, including names of individuals, businesses, details of payment transactions and texts and emails evidencing criminal intent has been made available by SAP to the NPA. The Independent Directorate, working with [the Hawks] and SIU, is considering the evidence.”
The NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit head, and deputy national director of public prosecutions, Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba, said: “The resolution is a bold new step that takes South Africa forward in fighting crime.
“The NPA is committed not only to prosecuting criminals but also contributing to the economic recovery of the country through restitution of the proceeds of crime. Corporate alternative dispute resolutions address both of these mandates of the NPA. The present resolution obliges SAP to return all benefits that it received under the corrupt contracts that it concluded. It also subjects SAP to punitive reparation payments that far exceed any fine the South African courts have ever imposed on a company as a criminal sentence.”
SAP has committed to a local and international corporate compliance programme to prevent future corrupt practices. This includes adoption of risk-based controls and data analytics and investing more resources in compliance.
TimesLIVE
READ MORE:
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Why the SIU is going after German tech company SAP
Germany’s SAP paid R128,6-million to Gupta-linked entities
Why did SAP go to US authorities first, asks deputy finance minister
Global software giant SAP admits payments to Guptas
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