Hungary’s SAP scandal continues: new details emerge about the dismissal of the local managing director

The Hungarian SAP scandal keeps unfolding: according to sources from Telex, Szabolcs Pintér, the managing director of the Hungarian subsidiary of the German-owned multinational SAP, was abruptly dismissed last summer. Although he was not part of a shocking, sexist employee chat group, he was held responsible for allowing such a group to exist and for employees having access to it through their work devices. Pintér has sued the company, just like several other dismissed employees.

The Hungarian SAP scandal exploded in summer

In August came the bombshell: the multinational would be freeing itself of the entire Hungarian senior management. This claim was quickly corrected — “only” four Hungarian employees were let go, including managing director Szabolcs Pintér. Pintér had worked for the Hungarian subsidiary since 2007 and had managed it since 2019.

• SAP scandal in Hungary: check out our first article covering the topic.

Late summer rumours spoke of prostitutes at company events. These were swiftly denied, as was the claim that all top managers had been fired. The dismissed employees included the managing director, the marketing head (not part of senior management), a sales representative, and an event organiser.

Telex investigated the scandal’s background thoroughly, speaking with many insiders and former employees. They also interviewed the former managing director, who revealed little about the reasons. According to Pintér, false claims were used to justify his dismissal, questioning both his professional credibility and personal integrity. The company never challenged the media stories. For this reason, he and two former colleagues initiated legal action against SAP; the fourth dismissed employee did not sue, as they were not directly employed but loaned to SAP Hungary.

The local investigation stems from a global corruption probe

Insiders revealed that the Hungarian firm came under scrutiny of the US law firm Paul Hastings LLP as part of a larger probe into previous corruption scandals in Africa, the Caucasus, and Southeast Asia. The firm was hired to conduct a full company audit, identify issues, and implement improvements. SAP had been penalised by the US Department of Justice with fines and asset forfeiture totalling over USD 222 million, but avoided escalating legal actions by agreeing to the probe.