3rd Dec 2015 06:52
LONDON (Alliance News) - The chairman of British American Tobacco PLC has denied claims that non-executive directors of the tobacco giant failed to act on claims the group was involved in bribing African officials, The Times reported.
BAT faced claims broadcast in a BBC Panorama documentary this week that some of its employees based in eastern Africa had paid bribes to politicians and health officials in order to gain a commercial advantage.
The majority of the claims were made by whistleblower Paul Hopkins, who worked for BAT for 13 years. He had been due to meet officials from the Serious Fraud Office on Wednesday to hand over documents supporting his claims.
Richard Burrows, the chairman of BAT, told The Times: "I can assure you that the board takes very seriously its role in establishing appropriate systems of corporate governance and, through our committee structure, reviewing its internal control systems, governance framework and issues that arise."
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/consumer/article4630627.ece
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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