Swiss engineering firm ABB and South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority have reached an agreement that the company will pay reparations for its involvement in government corruption, the crime agency said on Thursday.
ABB has agreed to pay R2.5-billion in punitive reparations to South Africa within 60 days from 1 December, the NPA said in a statement. This is in addition to the R1.6-billion the company paid back to the state power utility Eskom in 2020.
ABB was investigated for and found guilty of improper payments and other compliance issues at the Kusile power station, in a wide-scale investigation into state corruption concluded in June 2022.
The Kusile power plant will be among the largest coal-fired plants in the world when complete and with its sister station, Medupi, was intended to end crippling power cuts in South Africa.
“This settlement does not indemnify any individuals involved in criminal conduct, including directors, staff and contractors of ABB,” said the NPA, adding that investigations were ongoing.
In September, ABB said it was setting aside a provision of around US$325-million to cover costs related to investigations surrounding the Kusile power plant in South Africa.
Read: Ex-ABB employees arrested in Eskom corruption crackdown
On Thursday, it said it had reached a full and final settlement with the prosecuting authority and that the $150-million in settlement payments had been accounted for as part of the $325-million provision in its third quarter financial statement.
“ABB hopes to reach a final resolution on the outstanding related matters soon,” the company said. — (c) 2022 Reuters