Bain

Bain considering options following Treasury’s 10-year ban

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Following hot on the heels of the UK government’s three-year ban of international consultancy firm Bain & Co, after much pressure, South Africa’s National Treasury has followed suit, slapping Bain with its own 10-year ban. Two commissions of inquiry in South Africa found the company had a case to answer to for its destruction of the South African Revenue Service. State Capture Inquiry chairperson Raymond Zondo recommended all of Bain’s public sector contracts be investigated with a view to prosecution. British politician Lord Peter Hain more recently turned the screws up another notch on the Boston-headquartered firm, writing to US President Joe Biden requesting a similar ban for Bain’s alleged involvement “in widescale corruption in South Africa and the undermining of that country’s democratic institutions”. Bain whistleblower Athol Williams – who fled South Africa for the UK – has previously described the fact that a foreign government sanctioning Bain while the South African government remained mum as an “embarrassment”. To listen to Williams’ story click here. BizNews has sent a list of questions to Treasury and will update the story when received. – Michael Appel

Bain & Co: We disagree with the ban

We deeply regret the mistakes made in the procurement and execution of Bain South Africa’s (Bain SA) work with SARS between 2015 and 2017. SARS was – and remains – a critical institution and a source of pride for us as South Africans. We are embarrassed that this could have occurred in the first place and are angry that our work was used by others to damage a critical institution and South Africa. 

We have acknowledged and apologised publicly for the mistakes that were made and we accept that there must be consequences for those mistakes.  

We repaid to SARS all fees plus interest prior to the completion of the Nugent Commission in 2018 and have not pursued any public sector work since 2019, nor did we have plans to do so in the future.  

We note National Treasury’s decision to restrict Bain SA from any public sector work for 10 years effective September 2022 based our work with SARS which ended in 2017.   

We disagree with the ban and are considering our options in response to this decision. We had already reached out to various stakeholders, including Treasury and SARS, to engage in further dialogue. Despite this outreach, we were given no notice of or opportunity to respond to the restriction prior to its apparent implementation.  

There is no evidence that Bain colluded with SARS or engaged in any corrupt and fraudulent practices. While we acknowledge that Bain SA was aware of the request for proposal (RFP) before it was formally issued (as detailed on www.bain.com/sars), we have found no evidence, nor has any been produced, that Bain manipulated the procurement process in any way to exclude other bidders or specifically advantage Bain. This process was wholly run by SARS.  

Bain SA competed for the bid award alongside other candidates pursuant to a competitive tender process and was awarded the contract in January 2015. At the time of the investigation, Baker McKenzie asked SARS for additional information regarding the procurement process which only SARS had access to, but SARS never responded to the request. 

The new Bain South Africa leadership is determined to make sure that the events of the past can never be repeated. In line with the public commitment we made in our recent appeal for constructive dialogue, we will continue reaching out to key stakeholders to engage openly and honestly on a way forward. This includes doing what is required to restore our standing with the South African government and other stakeholders over time and to be a force for good in the country.

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