British American Tobacco is the subject of a US criminal investigation over suspected sanctions breaking, reported Reuters.

The investigation was announced on April 14, causing shares in BAT to drop by 5.5 per cent to GBP 28.54. The company stated that it is cooperating with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), but declined to comment on whether the case is a criminal investigation. BAT spokesperson, Anna Vickerstaff, told Reuters, “As the investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to provide further comment at this time.”
In its annual report, which was released in March, BAT disclosed that it was aware of the investigation by the DoJ and OFAC, but did not provide any detail on the nature of the investigation.
According to the report, the company is also the subject of a separate investigation by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), in relation to “suspicions of corruption in the conduct of business by group companies and associated persons”. Jefferies analyst, Owen Bennett, told Reuters that the two investigations could be linked but that it “likely sounds worse than it is”. Bennett also stated, “If we are right, and it (the U.S. probe) does relate to the same accusations (as in SFO probe), the fact this has been ongoing in some form since 2017 with no apparent conclusion, we would not worry too much about it for now.”