African NGOs demand seizing of French billionaire’s assets over murky deals in continent

Several non-profit organizations from five African nations have filed a lawsuit against French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, accusing him of corruption, illegally securing port contracts, and money laundering.

The lawsuit seeks the confiscation of funds earned by the Bollore SE conglomerate from the sale of its transport and logistics assets in Africa, Caliber.Az reports per French media.

The fraud and corruption complaints, submitted on March 19 to France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, allege that Bolloré and one of his sons unlawfully obtained and profited from port concessions.

According to the plaintiffs, Bollore SE secured lucrative container terminal contracts in Togo, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, and Côte d'Ivoire through illicit means, then laundered money in those nations by selling its African logistics division.

Bolloré Group’s African ports and logistics business, which the billionaire sold in 2022 to Swiss container shipping giant MSC Group for €5.7 billion, employed over 20,000 people across 20 African countries. The company operated 16 ports, along with warehouses and transport hubs throughout the continent.

“Our ultimate goal is to return this money to the local population,” said Christophe Marchand, a lawyer representing one of the plaintiffs.

Since the start of 2025, Bollore SE’s market capitalization has dropped by 8.2 per cent, falling to €15.59 billion.

French authorities have previously investigated allegations that the Bolloré Group provided illegal support for political campaigns in exchange for port concessions.

By Nazrin Sadigova