Washington, United States — McKinsey and Co. Africa has agreed to pay nearly $123 million to settle a probe into bribes paid to South African officials to obtain lucrative consulting contracts, the US Justice Department said Thursday.

The wholly owned subsidiary of global consulting giant McKinsey and Co. was accused of paying bribes to officials at Transnet Ltd, South Africa's state-owned custodian of ports, rails, and pipelines, and Eskom Holdings Ltd, the state-owned energy company.

McKinsey Africa entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the US authorities to resolve the charges, the Justice Department said, and agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $122.8 million.

Vikas Sagar, a former senior partner in McKinsey Africa's South Africa office, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The Justice Department said McKinsey Africa, between 2012 and 2016, obtained confidential information from Transnet and Eskom regarding consulting contracts.

The company made contract proposals "while knowing that South African consulting firms with which McKinsey Africa had partnered would pay a portion of their fees as bribes to officials at Transnet and Eskom," it said.

"McKinsey Africa participated in a yearslong scheme to bribe government officials in South Africa... that netted McKinsey Africa and its parent entity McKinsey and Company approximately $85 million in profits," US Attorney Damian Williams said.

Under Jacob Zuma's presidency, Eskom, which provides most of South Africa's electricity, found itself at the center of a massive corruption scandal. Millions of dollars were allegedly siphoned off through fraudulent contracts in return for bribes.