New team named to head SAP in S Africa

GERMANY’S SAP named a new executive team in South Africa on Friday, two days after the software giant put four senior managers on leave, pending its investigations into allegations that it was involved in a government bribery scheme.

SAP said 25-year company veteran Claas Kuehnemann would step into the role of acting managing director for Africa, in charge of the company’s business in 51 countries, and that Peter David, its finance chief for Europe, Middle East and Africa, would become acting chief financial officer, SAP Africa.

Europe’s largest software company also said it had hired Chicago-based international law firm Baker McKenzie to conduct an external investigation. SAP said on Wednesday that it would run its own, internal probe using its own compliance organisation.

Baker McKenzie would work with various experts, including forensic firm FTI Consulting, the company said.

“My interim role is to support our employees, customers and partners across all our business sectors while the due diligence process is conducted,” Kuehnemann said. Two decades ago, he set up the new SAP subsidiary in South Africa.

South African media reported last week that SAP paid alleged kickbacks in the form of sales commissions to a firm linked to the politically connected Gupta family, who are known to be close friends of President Jacob Zuma.

amaBhungane, an investigative reporting group, together with the Daily Maverick’s Scorpio investigative team, reported that the alleged kickbacks were to clinch a deal with rail and logistics company Transnet and other state-owned firms worth R1 billion.

The amaBhungane report was based on leaked e-mails and documents that they said showed how the powerful Gupta family unduly influenced the awarding of government contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

No comment

SAP has not named the four senior executives it put on administrative leave while investigating the company’s actions.

The Guptas and Zuma have denied wrongdoing. A Gupta family spokesperson and Zuma’s spokesperson did not respond to calls and e-mails for comment on the SAP story.

Transnet said that it had been an SAP customer since 2000, but that it was unaware of the parties reportedly involved in SAP sales to the company. It referred queries to SAP and its sales partners.

Baker McKenzie advises a wide range of African companies, multinationals and financial institutions and employs 60 attorneys from its offices in Johannesburg. – Reuters