Bain & Co barred from UK government contracts over ‘grave misconduct’ in South Africa
The global management consultancy Bain & Company has been barred from tendering for UK government contracts for three years after its “grave professional misconduct” in state corruption in South Africa, the Cabinet Office said.
Britain became the first western country to take this step, after pressure from the former Labour minister and anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain.
In January, the Guardian revealed that Lord Hain had called on Boris Johnson’s government to penalise Bain & Co, which is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, over its “despicable” role in South Africa’s biggest post-apartheid corruption scandal. The UK’s move puts pressure on the US to follow suit.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “After reviewing Bain’s role in alleged state capture and corruption by the former government of South Africa, taking account of the evidence and conclusions of the South African Government Commission, the minister for government efficiency considered Bain to be guilty of grave professional misconduct. We have consequently excluded them from competing for Cabinet Office contracts for a period of three years.
“This decision has been taken in light of Bain’s responsibility as a global brand for its South Africa division and the company’s failure to clarify the facts and circumstances of its involvement.”
A South African judicial commission investigating state capture and corruption concluded in January there had been “collusion” between the Boston-based global consultancy and the former South African president Jacob Zuma to reshape entire sectors of the economy.
The commission found that between 2012 and 2015, Bain helped draw up plans to “seize and restructure” the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and centralise
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