Germany's SAP Admits US Iran Sanctions Violation...Agrees to $8 Million Fine

Approval of Export of Prohibited Items, Voluntary Report
Agreement After 3 Years of Investigation... "Full Responsibility for Past Actions"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] SAP, Europe's largest software company, has acknowledged violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and has agreed to pay a fine of $8 million (approximately 8.8 billion KRW) to the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ emphasized that the fine was reduced due to SAP's voluntary disclosure and stressed that other companies should also self-report if they have violations.

According to foreign media including Bloomberg on the 29th (local time), the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a statement that the German company SAP was fined $8 million for violating U.S. sanctions by exporting prohibited software to Iran. The DOJ highlighted that the fine was significantly reduced considering SAP's admission of the violation, voluntary reporting, and agreement to cooperate with further investigations by U.S. authorities.

John Demers, head of the National Security Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, stated, "If we had discovered the issue first, SAP's situation would have been much worse," adding, "This sends a clear message to other companies that voluntarily disclosing intentional violations is definitely beneficial." According to the DOJ, SAP is accused of failing to use geographic location filters to prevent companies controlled by Iran from downloading its software from January 2010 to September 2017.

In a statement regarding the settlement, SAP said, "We take full responsibility for our past actions" and added, "We have strengthened internal controls to ensure full compliance with the law going forward."

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