An SEC investigation found that Vicente E. Garcia, the former vice president of global and strategic accounts for SAP SE , orchestrated a scheme to pay $145,000 in bribes to one government official and promised to pay two others in order to obtain four contracts to sell SAP software to the Panamanian government.
SEC Charges Former Software Executive With FCPA Violations. The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a former executive at a worldwide software manufacturer has agreed to settle charges that he violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA ) by bribing Panamanian government officials through an intermediary to procure software ...
He essentially caused SAP, which is headquartered in Germany and executes most of its sales through a network of worldwide corporate partners, to sell software to a partner in Panama at discounts of up to 82 percent.
Garcia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco. In a sentencing order, Breyer identified former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli as one of several alleged conspirators in the SAP scheme. That order was released on December 22 and sealed the next day. Martinelli has not been charged with wrongdoing.
SAP settles with SEC over Panama bribery scheme. (Reuters) - SAP SE agreed to pay nearly $3.9 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges over a former executive’s scheme to bribe Panama government officials in order to win lucrative technology contracts.
Monday’s settlement calls for SAP to give up $3.7 million of profit and pay $189,000 of interest to settle charges that it violated the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits bribing foreign officials to win business.