SAP to Pay $220 Million to Resolve US Foreign Bribery Case (1)

German software company SAP SE agreed to pay more than $220 million to resolve a foreign bribery investigation by US authorities, which said the deal shows their corporate enforcement strategy in action.

The pact with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission addresses a pair of schemes to bribe government officials in South Africa and Indonesia, according to a DOJ statement. The company entered into a three-year deferred-prosecution agreement with the DOJ after it was charged with two counts of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

According to the US, SAP and co-conspirators paid bribes in cash, political contributions and luxury goods to win business in South Africa from 2013 through 2017 and in Indonesia from 2015 through 2018, and falsified records to make the payoffs look like business expenses. Under the agreement, the US won’t pursue a prosecution as long as the company meets certain conditions, including assisting in related ongoing or future criminal investigations.

SAP has made agreements with US authorities in the past related to bribery and export law violations.

Read More: SAP Reaches Deal With U.S. After Violating Iran Sanctions

The DOJ said the accord highlights the effectiveness of its incentives to companies to cooperate with investigations and fix internal problems.

“SAP has accepted responsibility for corrupt practices that hurt honest businesses engaging in global commerce,” Jessica D. Aber, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in the statement. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute bribery cases to protect domestic companies that follow the law while participating in the international marketplace.”

SAP said in a separate statement that the schemes are in the past and that it has acted to avoid a recurrence.

“SAP separated from all responsible parties more than five years ago and has since significantly enhanced its global compliance program and related internal controls,” it said.

(Updates with details of agreement and broader context.)

To contact the reporter on this story:
Sabrina Willmer in Washington at swillmer2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Peter Jeffrey

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