British American Tobacco negotiated bribe for Mugabe

A BBC Panorama investigation has found evidence that suggests one of Britain's biggest companies paid a bribe to the former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe.

Documents show British American Tobacco (BAT) was involved in negotiations to pay between $300_000 and $500_000 to Mugabe's Zanu-PF party in 2013.

The documents also reveal BAT was paying bribes in South Africa and using illegal surveillance to damage rivals.

BAT says it is committed to the highest standards of corporate conduct.

President Mugabe's 37-year rule was secured through elections marred by allegations of fraud and violence.

He was ousted in 2017 and died in 2019. The ruling party Zanu PF is now under new leadership.

In a joint investigation with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the University of Bath_ Panorama obtained thousands of leaked documents.

They show how BAT funded a network of almost 200 secret informants in southern Africa.

Most of this work was outsourced to a South African private security company called Forensic Security Services (FSS).

FSS was officially tasked with fighting the black-market cigarette trade_ however former employees have told the BBC that they broke the law to sabotage BAT's rivals.