McKinsey & Company Africa has agreed to pay over $120 million following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into a bribery scheme involving South African government officials. The company, a subsidiary of McKinsey & Company, Inc., was charged with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The case is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon.
The DOJ announced that Vikas Sagar, a former senior partner at McKinsey, pled guilty to participating in this conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on December 16, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, "McKinsey Africa participated in a yearslong scheme to bribe government officials in South Africa and unlawfully obtained a series of highly lucrative consulting engagements that netted McKinsey Africa and its parent entity McKinsey & Company approximately $85 million in profits."
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri commented, "McKinsey Africa bribed South African officials in order to obtain lucrative consulting business that generated tens of millions of dollars in profits." She added that the resolution reflects the success of the DOJ's International Corporate Anti-Bribery initiative.
Eric Shen from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service noted, "McKinsey Africa will pay over $122 million, a clear indication that corruption comes at a significant cost."
Court documents reveal that between 2012 and 2016, McKinsey Africa paid bribes to officials at Transnet SOC Ltd and Eskom Holdings Limited to secure confidential information for multimillion-dollar contracts. The deferred prosecution agreement requires McKinsey Africa to pay a criminal penalty of $122,850,000 and continue cooperating with ongoing investigations.
The DOJ credited McKinsey Africa for its cooperation during the investigation and for taking remedial measures such as enhancing compliance programs and conducting additional anti-corruption training.
The FBI’s International Corruption Unit and USPIS are investigating the case as part of the IRS Global Illicit Financial Team in Washington D.C.
Vikas Sagar has pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy under FCPA regulations. The prosecution team includes Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew K. Chan and Nicholas Chiuchiolo along with Trial Attorneys William E. Schurmann and Alexandra P. Swain from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.