French billionaire Vincent Bollore will go on trial in December for allegedly engaging in embezzlement and bribery during the election campaigns of Presidents Alpha Conde in Guinea and Faure Gnassingbe in Togo, in exchange for port deals in West Africa.
The French entrepreneur was officially investigated in 2018 for allegedly providing subsidised campaign services to the presidential campaigns in order to secure the port contracts through his advertising firm, Havas.
He made an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the issue in 2021 by entering a guilty plea. His group still consented to give French authorities €12 million ($13.8 million). Additionally, investigators claim that a business connected to Bolloré paid €300,000 for Gnassingbé’s campaign assistance.
The attorneys for Bolloré deny any misconduct. They contend that the payments were made as part of regular commercial transactions between Havas and the Bolloré group, adding that his chances of receiving a fair trial have been hampered by the failed plea agreement.
According to reports, Jean-Philippe Dorent, head of Havas International Consulting, and Gilles Alix, a former Vivendi board member, will also go on trial in this case.
The billionaire’s family controls and operates the conglomerate Bollore Group, which sold its logistical holdings in Africa to the shipping company MSC Group in 2022. Nevertheless, Bollore and his family continue to hold substantial shares in listed companies, including Vivendi.
By: Andres Kwesi Yeboah