German software company, SAP has accepted to pay around $222 million (R4.1 billion) in damages for bribery schemes in seven countries, according to US authorities. File Picture: IOL
German software company, SAP has accepted to pay around $222 million (R4.1 billion) in damages for bribery schemes in seven countries, according to US authorities.
The company has acquiesced to a a three-year deferred prosecution agreement to mitigate the criminal charges, according to the US Department of Justice.
The company has been involved in bribery allegations of various government officials in South Africa and Indonesia in order to get more business.
It should be noted that these criminal charges will be removed after three years as it is a deferred prosecution agreement.
SAP has also engaged in a civil settlement with US authorities over bribery charges with the following countries: Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya and Azerbaijan.
“The company (SAP) has accepted responsibility for corrupt practices that hurt honest businesses engaging in global commerce," Jessica Aber, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a statement.
These alleged bribery schemes were conducted between 2013 and 2022 and noted that the company would cook their books in order to show that the bribes were legitimate expenses.
Specifically in SA, SAP South Africa paid for a 2025 trip to New York for government officials that included golf outings and meals in order to secure a $13.2 million (R246 million) contract.
In December, retailer Spar said that it will have to withhold a final dividend to save cash after a huge IT system failure that was implemented by SAP.
In September, Spar informed its shareholders that the software system blunder had cost the company R1.4 billion.
The system cost R1.8 billion, according to Spar, and negatively impacting distribution operations in KZN.
“The impact of the SAP implementation at KZN amounted to an estimated loss of turnover to the group of R1.4 billion for the period, being approximately R786 million for the six months ended March 31, 2023, as previously reported, and an additional R638 million for the five months to August 2023,” the company said.
Spar did acknowledge that the worst was now over as it relates to the faulty IT system and said it has not rolled out the system anywhere else in SA.
James Wilson, head of communications Africa for SAP told IOL News in September that SAP was aware of the challenges with the implementation of SAP solutions at Spar’s KZN distribution centre. He noted that implementing a system of this magnitude has many facets, and the issues that were experienced were not related to the SAP software itself.
“A team of SAP experts and support staff have worked hand-in-hand with Spar’s team and resolved the adoption challenges, ensuring that the Spar Group can benefit in full, from both their investment and the efficiency gains of its new SAP solution,” Wilson concluded.
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