The Special Tribunal has ordered German software company SAP to pay around R500 million to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) within seven days for its involvement in corrupt Gupta-linked contracts at Eskom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the SIU, the settlement stems from two Eskom contracts worth around R1.1 billion awarded to SAP between 2013 and 2016, which the tribunal declared as constitutionally invalid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The SIU revealed that SAP entered into a Sale Commission Agreement with CAD House CC, a Gupta-linked company. Eskom and SAP then signed an agreement for Cloud services at a contract value of R21.7 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following payments from Eskom to SAP, Gupta-linked CAD House received funds from SAP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Findings revealed that the [two contracts] did not comply with the Public Finance Management Act, which resulted in Eskom incurring fruitless and wasteful expenditures in respect of the agreements,” said the SIU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The settlement agreement does not absolve SAP or any implicated party from possible prosecution,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The R500 million payment forms part of a previously reported R2.2 billion fine that SAP has pledged to pay South African state-owned enterprises for their involvement in bribes paid to officials to obtain valuable government business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike the other payments that SAP will make, the R500 million will go to the SIU and not the nation’s SOEs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SAP will pay R4.1 billion rand, which consists of a criminal penalty of $118.8 million (R2.2 billion) and administrative forfeiture of $103,396,765 (R1.9 billion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n