Prosecuting Agency:
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Type of Action:
SEC Administrative Proceeding
Docket or Case Number:
3-21824
Name of Prosecuting Attorneys:
Sana Muttalib, SEC Headquarters
Sonali Singh, SEC Headquarters
Ansu N. Banerjee, SEC Headquarters
US Assisting Agencies:
Unknown
Foreign Enforcement Action/Investigation:
South African Special Investigating Unit (Foreign Enforcement Action)
Foreign Assistance:
Unknown
Origin of the Proceeding:
Voluntary disclosure
Whistleblower:
Unknown
Case Status:
Resolved
Summary
SAP SE, headquartered in Germany, was a global business software company whose American Depositary Shares were registered with the SEC and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. SAP marketed its software all over the world through various country subsidiaries, including the following wholly-owned subsidiaries -- SAP South Africa Ltd., SAP Africa Ltd., PT. SAP Indonesia, and SAP AZ LLC. The SEC previously charged SAP in 2016 with books and records and internal accounting controls violations of the FCPA in connection with a bribe scheme in Panama.
According to the documents in this case, between December 2014 and December 2018, SAP employed third-party intermediaries and consultants in various schemes to make improper payments to government officials in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Tanzania in order to secure or retain contracts with state authorities in those countries. Additionally, an SAP Azerbaijan employee directly provided gifts to a government official in Azerbaijan in January 2022 in order to obtain a contract with the country's state-owned oil company.
In a settled administrative proceeding announced on January 10, 2024, the SEC ordered SAP to cease and desist violations of the antibribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions of the FCPA. Under the terms of the settlement, SAP agreed to pay disgorgement of $85,046,035 plus prejudgment interest of $13,405,149. SAP agreed to credit up to $59,455,779 of the disgorgement for payments made to South African officials in that country's parallel enforcement action. The SEC noted SAP's disclosure, cooperation, and remediation.
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