Idemia faces lawsuit from spurned former partner in ACSA deal

There is more fallout from the canceled biometrics contract between French firm Idemia and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), as the major provider faces a lawsuit from a former partner in the deal.

Infoverge has already made its grievances known over circumstances around the original contract to provide airport biometrics. They say it was originally awarded to Idemia with the provision that 30 percent of the work would go to a local service provider qualified under the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) program – and, although they had a written agreement to be that provider, they were removed from the project after two months.

Their complaint led to a court challenge, which sparked a brushfire of blame and termination, with hints of intrigue around preferential treatment. In its wake, the original tender was scuppered, along with ACSA’s chief information officer.

Now, Infoverge wants 39 million rand (US$2.15m) to make up for what it claims it lost in being ditched from the R115 (US$6.3m) biometrics deal.

Idemia, now subject to legal action as well as calls for an audit, has called the termination of the first contract “unfortunate” but alluded to the potential to re-bid on a fresh tender from ACSA.

“Idemia takes the recent allegations reported by the South African press regarding the tender process initiated by ACSA (Airports Company South Africa) very seriously,” a company representative told Biometric Update in an email. “Transparency and integrity remain central to Idemia’s values, and the company is committed to ensuring the highest standards in all its activities and the company stands ready to cooperate with all relevant stakeholders.“

This post was updated at 11:14am Eastern on November 28, 2024 to include comment from Idemia.

Article Topics

airports  |  Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).  |  biometrics  |  IDEMIA  |  Infoverge Solutions  |  lawsuits  |  South Africa