Swiss engineering company ABB has been ordered to pay 2.5 billion South African rand (CHF134 million) in reparations and has been fined CHF4 million ($4.2 million) by Swiss prosecutors for industrial-scale bribery in South Africa.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/mga
Português
pt
Caso de corrupção na África do Sul custa CHF140mi adicionais à empresa suíça
The cost of bribing South African officials to gain lucrative contracts is adding up for ABB. In 2020 the company had to pay a South African power company more than CHF100 million in compensation.
More
More
Swiss multinationals: global heavyweights in high-risk sectors
This content was published on
Switzerland is home to a large number of multinationals, some in sectors that are highly exposed to risks of human rights violations.
The latest financial penalties centre around a contract that ABB won in 2015 to help build a coal-fired power plant in South Africa.
“ABB South Africa received orders worth at least $200 million with bribes of at least CHF1.3 million,” said the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) on Friday.
The CHF4 million Swiss fine was imposed on ABB for failing to take “all necessary and reasonable organisational precautions to prevent bribery payments to foreign public officials”.
The OAG said it had not imposed the maximum CHF5 million criminal penalty as the company had cooperated with its probe.
The investigation of ABB was carried out jointly by Swiss, South African, United States and German prosecutors.
More
More
How do we make business respect human rights?
This content was published on
Another long session of the UN Human Rights Council has ended in Geneva. The highlights, if we can call them that, have been country specific.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Switzerland among world’s most expensive for household electricity
This content was published on
According to a study by the comparison site Verivox, based on data from Global Petrol Prices, Switzerland came in tenth out of 143 countries.
Global uncertainty boosts Swiss-EU talks, says Cassis
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis says Switzerland’s talks with the European Union (EU) have been boosted by the current difficult global situation.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss multinationals: global heavyweights in high-risk sectors
This content was published on
Switzerland is home to a large number of multinationals, some in sectors that are highly exposed to risks of human rights violations.
Responsible business initiative rejected at the ballot box
This content was published on
A majority of cantons rejected the responsible business initiative, sealing its fate. But it managed to secure the popular vote.
The Responsible Business Initiative’s orange revolution
This content was published on
Backers of the responsible business vote have been highly visual in spreading their message. Is it a new way of doing direct democracy or mere colour?
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.