According to documents seen by the BBC program ‘Panorama‘, British American Tobacco’s (BAT) private spies were caught spying on Savanna Tobacco’s factory, in Zimbabwe in 2012. After paying for talks with high-ranking Zanu PF members, about a donation of up to half a million dollars, the 3 spies were released. BAT is the manufacturer of Lucky Strike cigarettes and is one of the largest companies in the UK, where the multinational tobacco monopoly is headquartered in London.
The investigation touched on the world of corporate competition, illegal espionage and bribery in Africa, or more specifically the tobacco industry. The focus of the investigation was BAT, which had been accused of bribery in various African states, and the private security firm called Forensic Security Services (FSS), which the company relied on for its business in South Africa.
