The African subsidiary of global consulting firm McKinsey & Company Inc. has agreed to pay a criminal fine exceeding $122 million to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into a prolonged bribery scheme involving South African officials, U.S. authorities announced on Thursday.
The DOJ alleges that the scheme entailed paying bribes to officials within the South African government, the state-run agency overseeing ports, railways, and pipelines, as well as the state-controlled energy company. These illicit payments reportedly helped McKinsey Africa secure contracts, yielding $85 million in profits for the subsidiary and its parent company between 2012 and 2016.
Under a deferred prosecution agreement, McKinsey Africa can avoid formal prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, provided it adheres to specific compliance and monitoring conditions.
In a statement, McKinsey expressed its satisfaction with the resolution of the case, calling it “closure of this unfortunate situation.” The company emphasized its cooperation with authorities and highlighted “significant improvements” to its risk management, legal frameworks, and compliance controls.
McKinsey also noted that a former executive implicated in the case was dismissed over seven years ago, shortly after the company became aware of the misconduct.
“McKinsey is a very different company today than it was when these events occurred,” the firm stated, underscoring its commitment to maintaining robust ethical standards moving forward.
(AP)
