Joburg official's R2.2m SAP bribe diverted to 'unnamed political party'

City of Johannesburg (CoJ) officials went on a golf outing in New York after they were wined and dined by SAP after the company scored more than R246m in a contract for a licence consolidation tender in the city.

To secure the contract in 2015, SAP, a German software company, also bribed a senior Johannesburg official with R2.2m which was allegedly diverted to an unnamed political party, after discussions between the official and a SAP employee about the bribe.

According to US authorities, the bribe details are contained in chat messages between the SAP employee and the CoJ official.

“In addition to these cash payments, SAP South Africa paid for trips to New York for government officials in May and September 2015, including the officials’ meals and golf outings,'' reads the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settlement order.

The details have emerged in the US’s case against the German company in which it agreed to a settlement with the US authorities to pay more than $220m (R4.14bn) in fines for its corruption in the bribe scandal involving a number of countries such as South Africa, Indonesia, Tanzania, Malawi, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Azerbaijan and others.

“GA Intermediary 1 that was used to conduct business ... engaged in bid rigging and arranged corrupt payments to government officials in connection with SAP Africa deals,” reads the SEC order.

SAP CE Christian Klein and its group compliance officer Vivianne Gordon-Pullar signed the settlement on behalf of the company with US authorities Glenn Leon and Heidi Gesch.

The company “has accepted responsibility for corrupt practices that hurt honest businesses engaging in global commerce,” said US attorney Jessica Aber in the Eastern District of Virginia in a statement.

The US department of justice said SAP had entered a three-year deferred prosecution agreement to resolve criminal charges that it conspired to bribe government officials in Indonesia and South Africa to win business.

The National Prosecuting Authority said: “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.”

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