Cape Town – After imposing sanctions on it in 2022, the UK Cabinet Office announced its decision to reinstate Bain & Company as a supplier to the UK government.
The company said that the decision comes after a comprehensive review of Bain South Africa’s (Bain SA) work with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), 2015-2017, including the methodology, procurement process, findings of an independent legal investigation of Bain SA’s operations at the time, and examination of Bain’s extensive ‘self-cleaning’ actions put in place globally several years ago immediately following the events at SARS to ensure what happened cannot be repeated in the future.
The three-year ban was initially announced in August 2022 after the Zondo Commission found that Bain’s South African branch conspired with former president Jacob Zuma and ex-SA Revenue Service (SARS) boss Tom Moyane to “capture” the tax agency.
The ban has been lifted after less than eight months.
The company’s South African branch will, however, remain excluded from bidding on UK Government business until January 2025.
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It said that while Bain SA has not previously worked with the UK government, the exclusion reflects the findings of the Zondo Commission on Bain SA’s involvement with SARS and Bain’s acknowledgment that it did not fully clarify the facts and circumstances regarding its work with SARS.
“The Cabinet Office will review any new information that comes to light, including as a result of any potential reconsideration by the South African Government of their decision to ban Bain & Company South Africa,” Bain and Co. said.
“We continue to regret the mistakes made in the company’s work for SARS under the former leadership, which we have acknowledged and apologised publicly for,” said Stephen York, managing partner of Bain SA.
“However, there is no evidence that Bain colluded with SARS or engaged in any corrupt and fraudulent practices, and we remain ready to work cooperatively with any authority that approaches us and welcome the opportunity to clear our name. While the continued exclusion of Bain SA in the UK is regrettable, it is a decision that we will respect.”
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
