French billionaire Bollore targeted in fraud case over Africa ports / Photo: © AFP/File
-
Schools closed as Indonesia battles wildfires
-
Wallabies lock Amatosero given three-match ban for Japan red card
-
Swiatek dominates Shnaider to set up Toronto semi with Svitolina
-
Swiatek races into Toronto semis as Svitolina battles through
-
Oil prices rise further as hopes for Hormuz deal fade
-
'Big Four' bowlers back as ageing Australia begin gruelling run
-
One year after Putin-Trump summit, 'spirit of Anchorage' dissipated
-
AI's hunger for power sparks US private gas plant boom
-
Farage vs Count Binface: What to know about UK snap poll
-
Memphis AI data center fuels pollution fight in Black neighborhood
-
Torment of Afghan fathers as daughters deprived of education
-
Ceuta leader wants migrant detention centre after influx
-
Return of displaced Syrian Kurds to hometown suspended after violence
-
Colombia scrambles to find survivors as quake kills 111
-
Swiatek races past Shnaider into Toronto semi-finals
-
Rain postponements wreck Montreal Masters schedule
-
Meta pushes global AI vision amid race with OpenAI, Anthropic and China
-
Notts Forest owner Marinakis sues Palace over gun banner - reports
-
US judge ends graft case against India's Adani
-
Koech gets three-year ban, stripped of US 1,500m title
-
Anderson retires after 10 MLB seasons after 'too much pain'
-
Sensational Ingebrigtsen back with more European gold
-
Colombia in state of emergency as quake kills 111
-
'A scare': Brazil player leaps into tunnel in joy over goal
-
Britain's Amy Hunt wins European women's 100m gold
-
USA Swimming CFO Hilliard arrested for alleged theft
-
Trump order pushes for overhaul of childhood vaccine schedule
-
Trump insists Netanyahu relationship 'very good' despite Gaza rift
-
Global stocks mixed while oil prices jump on Hormuz
-
Ingebrigtsen delivers masterclass for seventh European athletics gold
-
Turkey MPs back historic law on reintegrating Kurdish militants
-
Colombia declares state of emergency after quake kills 111
-
'Dreams disappear' as Gaza students await evacuation to Italy
-
Golden relay double for Britain at Europeans as Marchand takes silver
-
Third European gold for Schilder in women's shot put
-
Barcelona's Araujo heads to Liverpool on loan
-
Golden relay double for Britain at Europeans as Marchand settles for silver
-
Tupac Shakur murder trial begins 30 years after rapper's death
-
US had hottest month on record in July
-
Russia bars only anti-war party from elections
-
Colombia quake leaves 69 dead, with more trapped under rubble
-
Boeing to divest tech ventures for stake in air-taxi startup
-
Bookmap Announces Partnership with Plus500 to Expand Futures Trading Access
-
Major quake rocks Colombia and neighbors, 18 confirmed dead
-
Barcelona turn down PSG offer for Torres
-
Brazil aircraft maker Embraer raises outlook after record revenue
-
Buildings collapse as major quake rocks Colombia and neighbors
-
Drought forces water restrictions across nearly 70 percent of France
-
Meta releases new AI model as Zuckerberg lays out vision
-
Europe wary as gas stocks languish at lows while winter looms
French billionaire Bollore targeted in fraud case over Africa ports
Groups from five African countries filed fraud and corruption complaints Wednesday accusing French billionaire Vincent Bollore and one of his sons of illegally obtaining and benefitting from port concessions.
Bollore Group's African ports and logistics business, which the tycoon sold off in 2022, employed more than 20,000 people in 20 African countries, running 16 ports as well as warehouses and transport hubs across the continent.
Cyrille Bollore, his youngest son, became head of Bollore Africa Logistics in 2019, taking over from his father.
A collective made up of non-governmental organisations in Togo, Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon called "Restitution for Africa" are accusing the Bollore Group, Bollore and his son of unlawfully receiving favours to run ports then "laundering" money in those countries through the sale of its Africa logistics business.
Bollore did not immediately reply to an AFP request for comment.
French investigators have already looked into allegations that the Bollore Group had, through its consulting business, illegally backed the 2010 presidential campaigns of Faure Gnassingbe in Togo and Alpha Conde in Guinea, in exchange for port concessions in Lome and Conakry.
The group's lawyers managed to negotiate a settlement, but French financial prosecutors in 2024 requested Vincent Bollore be tried on charges of corruption and complicity in breach of trust.
Wednesday's complaint now accuses Bollore of corruption, benefitting from influence peddling and the unlawful taking of interests of local officials in Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
It charges that this is how the group obtained concessions to run the ports of Douala and Kribi in Cameroon, Tema in Ghana, and Abidjan in Ivory Coast.
The collective alleges that the 2022 sale of Bollore Africa Logistics, whose profits came from these allegedly illegally obtained port concessions, amounted to money laundering.
Bollore's holding company sold Bollore Africa Logistics to the MSC shipping group for 5.7 billion euros ($6.05 billion) in 2022.
It was thought at the time to be the mainstay of the tycoon's fortune.
Bollore and his family are estimated to be worth $9.9 billion, according to Forbes. He owns several right-wing media outlets in France.
O.Bulka--BTB
