Former BAT Kenya managing director Gary Fagan. PHOTO | FILE
By DAVID HERBLING, hdavid@ke.naationmedia.com
In Summary
A former British American Tobacco (BAT)
Kenya executive is entangled in fresh claims of bribery and corporate
espionage allegedly carried out across southern Africa by the UK
cigarette manufacturer.
The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA), a
lobby representing small tobacco firms, has petitioned The Hawks – the
police wing which investigates serious crimes such as organised crime
and bribery – to investigate BAT claiming it ran a campaign to discredit
competitors in South Africa and neighbouring markets.
Gary Fagan, who served as BAT Kenya managing
director between 2008 and 2013, is now in charge of southern Africa
markets including Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique.
An affidavit sworn by an unnamed former spy who
worked for Forensic Security Services (FSS), a South African private
military firm, details how BAT hired a network of spies across the
region and bribed public officials to harass rival firms such as
Carnilinx.
“Effectively, my mandate from BAT South Africa was
to ensure a disturbance to the business of each of Carnilinx’s
distributors to the point that it becomes more of a trouble to stock
Carnilinx’s products,” reads part of the affidavit.
“Law enforcement agents are to be paid up to
ZAR5,000 (Sh32,700) a month for cooperating with FSS and BAT South
Africa in disturbing Carnilinx trading operations,” says the
ex-detective turned whistleblower.
For the second time in as many months, BAT plc is
facing allegations of bribing top tax officials, legislators and rival
company insiders in Africa as part of a scheme to undermine competition
and stifle anti-smoking laws.
BAT plc allegedly bribed Kenya Revenue Authority
(KRA) officers to hand over tax files belonging to rival Mastermind
Tobacco, pushed for the company to be slapped with numerous tax demand
notices, and bought sensitive materials such as board meeting minutes,
according to an expose by BBC’s Panorama aired in November 2015.
BAT plc said it has hired a consultant to
investigate the bribery allegations across southern Africa. The
London-based firm said it was yet hear from South African authorities
regarding the allegations made by FITA.
“Recently various new allegations have been made
and, in light of the number and nature of the allegations of which we
are now aware, a full investigation is being conducted with the
assistance of an external law firm,” said a BAT plc spokesperson.
“If we were to find that illegal activity had
occurred, we would, of course, take appropriate action,” said BAT plc in
a statement to the Business Daily.
FITA’s dossier on claims of irregular activities by
BAT includes a list of more than 70 spies, receipts of payments to
spies, and pre-paid cards used to wire payments to public officials in
South Africa and neighbouring markets.
“Private investigators operating an illegal covert
network of rogue spies throughout South Africa who in turn are paid to
spy on us,” the lobby said in a statement.
Whistleblower Paul Hopkins, who worked for BAT
Kenya for 13 years, was the man who was tasked to deliver bribes to
officials in East and Central Africa
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