African Ministers Bribed? Five Men Charged - Five ex-Phywe employees charged with bribery over African education contracts
Prosecutors Allege Former Employees Secured Unfair Advantages in Contracts—What Are the Exact Charges?
Public prosecutors have filed charges against five men accused of bribing officials, including ministers in Africa. According to the prosecution, the defendants are five former employees of a Göttingen-based educational supplies company. They are alleged to have bribed various ministers and government officials in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The main defendants include a former managing director of the company (69) and a commercial director (61). The three other accused are a co-managing director (85) and two regional managers responsible for Nigeria (73) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (55). Prosecutors claim the defendants offered or provided African decision-makers with kickbacks, laptops, cash, or even trips to Germany. The allegations were first reported by the Göttinger Tageblatt and NDR.
Supplying Universities and Schools
In Nigeria, investigators say the case involved laboratory and teaching materials for the University of Ilorin and six secondary schools. A planned €1.6 million contract for the university in 2017 ultimately fell through. It remains unclear whether a separate €3.3 million contract for the schools—intended for execution between 2016 and 2021—was finalized.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, €950,000 worth of laboratory equipment was delivered to the University of Kinshasa in 2019 as part of the World Bank-co-funded education project "PEQPESU." Authorities allege bribery or attempted bribery occurred in connection with this deal. That same year, similar allegations arose during the procurement of laboratory supplies for 36 schools in the DRC. The Göttingen firm's equipment, valued at around €2.5 million, was reportedly purchased through a Belgian distributor.
Company Denies Wrongdoing
Phywe Systeme, the Göttingen-based company in question, has vehemently denied the accusations and emphasized the principle of presumption of innocence. "After reviewing the investigative files, our legal representatives found no substantiated evidence of criminal conduct or breaches of supervisory duty," the company stated. It noted that none of the accused still work for the firm and stressed that robust systems and regulations are now in place to prevent such misconduct. "Similar incidents are impossible under our current structure," the statement added. The company expects proceedings at the Göttingen Regional Court to begin no earlier than 2027.
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