ON THE RECORD: SAP execs grilled on Gupta kickbacks, US DoJ investigations

Business software giant SAP held a press conference on Thursday in which it provided an update on its investigations into allegations of kickbacks to Gupta-linked companies. The biggest revelation from the briefing was that SAP, just days after AmaBhungane broke the story in July, decided to approach the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in a voluntary disclosure. It's clear that SAP knows that it risks having engaged in illegal activity, but it's waiting on an internal probe to be finished before taking its next step. Meanwhile, the DoJ will now have at least two Gupta-linked investigations on its desk as the FBI is investigating two Gupta nephews for alleged money laundering. Interestingly, the Hawks, late on Thursday, said that they're also getting involved and plan to head to Germany to investigate state capture. Can we expect arrests before Christmas as Paul O'Sullivan recently forecast? - Gareth van Zyl