UK govt lifts ban on Bain amid state capture allegations
The UK government has decided to lift the three-year ban on Bain & Company after less than eight months.
The controversial consulting firm was fingered in a report by the commission of inquiry into state capture for the work it did for the SA Revenue Service.
In South Africa, National Treasury last year slapped it with a ten-year ban, which remains in place.
In a statement on Tuesday, Bain & Company said they have cooperated with investigations and have provided considerable additional information on their self-cleansing actions.
“They have also agreed to a period of rigorous monitoring for a minimum of two years, during which their continued compliance will be assessed. Given the progress made since the exclusion, we can confirm that while Bain & Company South Africa, Inc. will remain excluded from UK government business, Bain & Company, Inc. and its affiliates outside of South Africa are no longer excluded from bidding for government work,” the statement read.
“This decision is subject to a regular and thorough period of close monitoring, for a minimum of two years, so we can be satisfied that the company continues to uphold the measures they have now put in place.
“During the monitoring period, Bain & Company has agreed that it will engage further with the (UK) Cabinet Office to provide evidence that their governance, organisation and internal processes are now working and will continue to work as they should do to prevent anything similar happening again,” the consultancy firm added.
