Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Corporate Espionage: British American Tobacco Accused in South Africa

Lawyers investigating bribery and corruption allegations against one of the world’s leading tobacco firms have been urged to expand their investigation after fresh international accusations emerged.

British American Tobacco, BAT, has been accused of corporate espionage against rival cigarette makers in South Africa.

According to court documents seen by The Independent on Sunday, two former police officers who went to work for private corporate investigation companies paid cash to South African law enforcement officials to disrupt BAT’s competitors’ business operations.

Mr Hopkins (a BAT whistleblower) said he... ran a corporate spying operation, and conducted “black ops” to put rivals out of business. more