NGOs sue Bollore for corrupt dealings in Africa port concessions

Non-government organizations from five African countries have filed corruption accusations against Vincent Bollore, claiming the French billionaire irregularly won concessions to run African ports.

Bollore Africa Logistics operated 16 ports as well as warehouses and transport hubs across the continent, before being sold to MSC shipping group for $6billion in 2022.

The organizations from Togo, Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon united under a coalition dubbed "Restitution for Africa", contend that Bollore's group obtained business by bribing local leaders.

They claim that it was through influence peddling that the group obtained concessions to run the ports of Douala and Kribi in Cameroon, Tema in Ghana, and Abidjan in Ivory Coast.

As such, the collective says funds from the sale of Bollore's Africa operations are proceeds of crime hence the charge of money laundering.

Bollore was the subject of a French investigation over accusations he bankrolled the 2010 presidential campaigns of Faure Gnassingbe in Togo and Alpha Conde in Guinea, in exchange for port concessions in Lome and Conakry.

Lawyers for his group opted for an out of court settlement against the accusations.