US company fined R1 billion for SAA bribery scheme

The aerospace firm AAR Corp., based in Illinois, has consented to pay about $30 million to settle allegations of bribery schemes involving officials in South Africa and Nepal. AAR paid millions in bribes between 2015 and 2018 to obtain contracts, including a big one with South African Airways, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In order to resolve allegations of bribing South African officials, McKinsey Africa has agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement and will pay more than $122 million. Between 2012 and 2016, the company acknowledged engaging in a scheme that involved paying bribes to land lucrative consulting contracts with state-owned companies like Eskom and Transnet, which generated profits of about $85 million.

SAP has been fined more than $220 million (roughly R4 billion) by the U.S. Justice Department for its participation in bribery schemes in multiple nations, including South Africa. It was discovered that SAP had paid bribes to government officials in order to secure lucrative contracts, especially with state-owned businesses like Eskom and Transnet. Both administrative forfeiture and criminal penalties are part of this settlement.

These cases underscore the necessity for businesses to have strong internal controls against bribery and the continuous efforts by U.S. authorities to enforce adherence to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and fight global corruption.