Business a.m. Reporter

Controversial Swiss firm, SICPA Security Solutions, which has been involved in the process of securing a revenue collection contract from the Federal Government of Nigeria following its submission of a proposal since 2023, is believed to be moving closer to realising the deal.

SICPA has global operations in many countries but it has been mired in controversy in multiple jurisdictions and questions raised over its methods of operations.   

Business a.m. learnt over the weekend, from sources close to the situation, that a ‘Certificate of No Objection’ was issued last week  to the Ministry of Finance for the project by the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Committee (ICRC), a clearance that means the project can now go ahead. 

With the ‘no objection’ certificate in place, the Ministry of Finance, which is the original project owner, Business a.m. further learnt, is said to have invited SCIPA to enter the contract negotiation phase of the process after which it would be asked to submit a business case for the ministry’s consideration.

The federal government, looking to boost its revenues, has been bullish to maximise all potential sources and it is believed to be considering the introduction of a track and trace system on excisable products across the manufacturing sector of the economy such as tobacco, alcohol and spirits, among others. 

The planned track and trace system, apart from boosting revenue, the government also wants to use it to check illicit production of products and to ensure that manufacturers are declaring accurately what they are producing from their factory lines.

A proposal sent in by SICPA Security Solutions, sources at the Ministry of Finance said, has been approved by the federal government. SICPA is said to have proposed implementing an integrated secure solution on a private-public-partnership (PPP) arrangement.

But a number of concerns have been raised concerning the secrecy that seems to surround the arrangement being put in place with the multinational operating Swiss firm. For instance, there are complaints that the selection of SICPA was by introduction against the transparent process of open tender, a reference to the fact that it was introduced by someone close to the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The SICPA proposal was based on recommendations to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) by Kibo Laboratories LLC, based in Washington DC.

Following this introduction, the transparent process of public tender having been jettisoned has meant that other vendors or suppliers were excluded from putting in bids for the contract.

Business a.m. also learnt that Nigerian government officials went to Switzerland to the headquarters of SICPA in efforts to verify the claims it had made. 

Business a.m. also learnt, in the course of piecing this story together, that though the Ministry of Trade and Industry is meant to play a key role in the whole process, its officials have been sidelined and are not in the know about what is going on. 

This non-competitive process of awarding the contract to SICPA has also been questioned by industry players who have not been carried along even though the implementation is supposed to involve them  and their manufacturing lines. They say that there are other providers who would have been happy to make presentations of their own solutions. 

However, questions are now being asked whether government officials are aware of the controversy surrounding the operations of SICPA in multiple jurisdictions or if they are just choosing to ignore it.

The company was indicted in 2023 for corporate criminal liability over payment of bribes in various countries.

SICPA was also convicted and fined CHF 81 million for organisational deficiencies by the Swiss Office of The Attorney General (OAG).

The proceedings identified the organisational deficiencies that made it possible for employees of SICPA to bribe public officials in the conduct of business in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela.

SICPA’s reputation suffered as an allegation of  systemic illegal practices, and investigations in several countries have been levelled against it.

The sanctioning of SICPA was for the acknowledged “organisational de ciencies” between 2008 and 2015 which relate to old actions, undertaken without the company’ consent and against its interest.

The Communications Service of the OAG said at the time: “With the penalty order issued in accordance with Art. 102 para. 2 SCC in conjunction with Art. 322septies SCC, SICPA SA (SICPA) has acknowledged that it failed to take all necessary and reasonable organisational precautions to prevent bribes to foreign public officials. The OAG has accordingly ordered the company to pay a fine of CHF 1 million and imposed an equivalent claim for compensation amounting to CHF 80 million under Art. 71 para. 1 SCC.”

SICPA is alleged to have undergone probes in Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Senegal, Vietnam, and Ukraine.

“In the penalty order, the OAG finds the former sales manager of SICPA, who took advantage of the decencies, guilty of bribery of foreign public officials under Art. 322septies SCC. He is being sentenced to a conditional prison term of 170 days. The order states that he paid bribes to high-ranking officials in the Colombian and Venezuelan markets between 2009 and 2011,”.