Police and Sopra Steria sue each other over failed i-Police digitisation project
The federal police have sued software company Sopra Steria in the case surrounding i-Police, the failed digitisation project for the police. Sopra Steria, in turn, is initiating civil proceedings “to contest responsibility for the discontinuation of the programme”.
In 2021, Sopra Steria was commissioned by the Belgian government to develop a new digital platform for the local and federal police. However, despite 76 million euros in paid invoices, nothing came of this ambition. At the end of December last year, interior minister Bernard Quintin unilaterally terminated the contract.
The top management of the company, which has its headquarters in France, disputes that it is responsible for the failure. During a hearing in parliament on Friday, the management emphasised that working applications had been delivered, but that they had never been put into operation, “a decision that was not ours to make”.
The police however do seem to be looking in the direction of Sopra Steria. They sued the company, the company announced in a press release on Monday. The police had previously asked Sopra Steria by registered letter not to participate in the parliamentary hearings, but the company ignored that warning.
Sopra Steria is now initiating parallel civil proceedings “to contest responsibility for the discontinuation of the i-Police programme”. “This action is in no way motivated by a desire for confrontation,” the company said. "Among other considerations, the primary aim is to ensure complete transparency about the facts and respective responsibilities. (...) Sopra Steria is taking this step with regret at the evolution of the case, but with serenity and confidence in an impartial assessment."
The company disputes that it made any mistakes in the i-Police case and says that “partial information” is circulating, “which has led to the company being publicly called to account on the basis of an incomplete picture of the facts”. In the Chamber, the company's management also emphasised that there are still outstanding invoices.
Illustration © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
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