Britain's Serious Fraud Office said that "it is investigating suspicions of corruption in the conduct of business by BAT... its subsidiaries and associated persons", while a spokeswoman for the tobacco giant told AFP that the probe concerned allegations of misconduct in Africa.
"We have been co-operating with the Serious Fraud Office and British American Tobacco has been informed that the SFO has now opened a formal investigation," BAT said in a statement.
The BBC in 2015 had reported that BAT allegedly paid bribes to officials in east Africa. The claims were immediately denied by the London-based tobacco giant.
Tuesday's update comes shortly after BAT completed its takeover of US peer Reynolds American.
BAT, whose cigarette brands include Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Kent, has paid almost $50 billion for control of Reynolds in a move that targets the lucrative United States market and the fast-growing e-cigarette sector. The transaction, which was completed last month, added cigarette brands including Camel and Newport to BAT's portfolio.
Source: AFP
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