(Finance) – SAPa German corporate giant, will pay over $220 million to resolve the investigations by the United States Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The Justice Department-related matter involves bribe payments to government officials in South Africa and Indonesia. “SAP paid bribes to officials of 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.
According to court documents, SAP and its co-conspirators have made bribe payments and provided other items of value targeting South African and Indonesian foreign officials, delivering money in the form of cash payments, political contributions, and bank transfers and other electronic transfers, along with luxury goods purchased during travel.
The SEC, in particular, announced charges against SAP for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) arising from bribery schemes in South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan. The company accepted fines of nearly $100 million in restitution and prejudicial interest to settle the SEC charges.
The SEC order notes that SAP, whose American Depositary Shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, violated the FCPA by employing third-party brokers and consultants at least from December 2014 to January 2022 to pay bribes to government officials to obtain public sector business in the seven countries mentioned above.