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A group of anti-corruption organisations have filed a legal complaint against French billionaire Vincent Bolloré and his logistics group Bolloré SE demanding the restitution of billions of euros that they allege are the proceeds of graft in Africa.
Restitution for Africa (RAF) is leading a group of 11 non-governmental organisations, based in Guinea, Togo, Cameroon and Paris, that filed the complaint on Tuesday night with the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF).
The group alleges the company Bolloré SE, its chief executive Cyrille Bolloré — Vincent Bolloré’s son — and Vincent Bolloré have benefited from corruption in relation to major African port concessions that were owned by Bolloré Africa Logistics until 2022.
It is seeking the restitution of billions of euros to local populations. Schillings is advising on the case.
The complaint says that until 2022, when Bolloré Group sold its Africa subsidiary, it had a dominant position in logistics infrastructure in Africa.
It alleges some port concessions were secured via means including criminal offences such as corruption and that “the amount obtained from the sale partly reflects the proceeds of the initial offences”.
The document also claims the group, and specifically Vincent Bolloré, used close relationships with local politicians to expand the group’s influence and consolidate a vast network of activities including port, rail and other logistics concessions.
Bolloré Africa Logistics was sold to MSC for €5.7bn in 2022. The plaintiffs want the proceeds from port sales to be returned to local populations through a restitution mechanism created by a 2021 French law.
The case refers to similar allegations in Guinea, Cameroon, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. “The continued ownership and operation of these assets until 2022 thus constitutes the offence of receiving stolen goods, which punishes the possession, use, or profit derived from fraudulent property,” the complaint reads.
Bolloré Group and representatives for the Bolloré family did not respond to requests for comment.
The PNF said it had received the complaint “from several associations grouped together in a pan-African collective, targeting Bolloré SE in particular . . . It is currently under review.”
The prosecutor’s office will decide whether the case will be allowed to proceed.
In 2021, Bolloré Group agreed to pay €12mn to settle with the PNF relating to allegations of undercharging the Togo and Guinea governments for consultancy work in return for a contract to manage ports.
In recent years, in addition to selling off the logistics business built over decades in French-speaking west Africa, the rest of Bolloré Logistics was sold to shipping group CMA-CGM in 2023.
The divestments have dramatically slimmed what used to be the Bolloré Group’s main business as Vincent Bolloré and the family have reshaped their empire to focus on media.
