South Africa’s special tribunal has ordered German multinational company SAP to pay back 500m rand ($26m; £20m) that the firm reportedly earned through corrupt contracts.

The country’s anti-corruption body said that the contracts – signed between SAP and public power company Eskom – did not comply with public finance management laws, resulting in “fruitless and wasteful expenditures” for Eskom.

The two contracts were entered between 2013 and 2016 and were valued at $58m.

The payment order follows a settlement agreement between SAP and the anti-corruption agency Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

The Special Tribunal last week upheld the settlement and termed the contracts “constitutionally invalid”.

SIU said on Monday that the payment was part of efforts “to recover financial losses suffered by state institutions due to negligence or corruption”.

“The settlement agreement does not absolve SAP or any implicated party from possible prosecution.”

SAP is required to remit the payment to SIU within seven days.

In January, the company agreed to pay more than $220 million to settle bribery charges involving government officials in several countries, including South Africa.

It allegedly paid millions in fees to consultants in South Africa, despite no work being performed, and funded trips to New York for government officials, including golf outings.

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