Serious Fraud Office opens formal probe into BAT

Cape Town – The UK-based Serious Fraud Office has opened a formal investigation into British American Tobacco (BAT) [JSE:BTI], the company said on Tuesday.

“As previously announced, we are investigating, through external legal advisers, allegations of misconduct,” BAT said in a statement.

“We have been cooperating with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and British American Tobacco has been informed that the SFO has now opened a formal investigation,” it said. “ BAT intends to cooperate with that investigation.”

In 2016, UK-based Financial Times reported that BAT had hired “lawyers to investigate allegations that it bribed officials in east Africa to undermine anti-smoking laws”.

In 2016, it hired multinational law firm Linklaters to investigate claims made by Paul Hopkins, a former employee.

“Mr Hopkins, who worked for BAT in Kenya for 13 years, handed over documents, allegedly implicating the company and local politicians in corruption, to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office in December.”