Tobacco.org

British American Tobacco and the Balkan mafia connection – Kenneth Clarke soiled by association with the smugglers and for misleading parliament 

Reports today [1] reveal that BAT has been working closely with the major figures in Balkan cigarette smuggling – supplying them with cigarettes underpinning large-scale smuggling.  Croatian investigative reporters interviewed a major mafia figure in Croatia, Srecko Kestner [2] who has revealed the connection. Kestner’s testimony shows that BAT had been working closely with Stanko Subotic, the kingpin of Balkan cigarette smuggling, and were close to agreeing a plan to build a factory in Serbia with tax concessions and preferential importer status that would facilitate large scale cigarette smuggling in the region and money laundering for Subotic.  The allegations have already led to a senior Swiss parliamentarian, Peter Hess, resigning from the board of BAT in February [3]. BAT Deputy Director and Tory leadership hopeful, Kenneth Clarke, has yet to respond.

Clive Bates of ASH said:

"Once again BAT is exposed operating deep within territory occupied by organised crime and major tobacco smugglers. They act as though the black market is just another distribution channel, and will work with some very ugly villains to ensure their brands are doing well through smuggling. This isn't just an isolated rogue trader at work, the problem starts at board level and the directors are responsible either for encouraging it or failing to prevent it. . .

"Clarke either mislead parliament deliberately or made his blunt denials without looking into the facts with proper care and diligence - either way, he his soiled by his association with BAT and his willingness to defend them with no questions asked and without properly looking into the way the company operates. These are hardly good credentials for a Tory leadership hopeful and aspiring prime minister."

Jump to full article »