French Tycoon Vincent Bollore Faces Trial Over Election Corruption Allegations

French billionaire Vincent Bollore is set to be tried for corruption related to election campaigns in Togo and Guinea between 2009 and 2011. Bollore is accused of bribing foreign officials for port contracts. His family's conglomerate, Bollore Group, previously owned African logistics assets sold in 2022.

French billionaire Vincent Bollore will stand trial on charges of corruption and embezzlement linked to election campaigns in Togo and Guinea during 2009, 2010, and 2011. The French financial prosecutor announced these charges on Thursday, stating that Bollore is suspected of having bribed officials in Puteaux, a Paris suburb, during the campaigns of Togo's Faure Gnassingbe and Guinea's Alpha Conde.

In 2018, Bollore came under formal investigation for allegations that his company provided discounted services for presidential candidates in Guinea and Togo in exchange for lucrative port contracts. His family-controlled conglomerate, Bollore Group, had previously owned logistic assets in Africa, later sold to MSC Group in 2022.

Besides his logistics ventures, the Bollore family holds substantial stakes in publicly traded entities like Vivendi and Havas. The prosecutor also named Gilles Alix, a former Vivendi board member, and Jean-Philippe Dorent, head of Havas International Consulting, as co-defendants. Neither Bollore nor his legal team have responded to inquiries so far.