A French court has ordered billionaire Vincent Bollore to stand trial on bribery and embezzlement charges stemming from his business dealings in West Africa over a decade ago, according to prosecutors in Paris.
The media mogul stands accused of paying bribes to government officials in the Parisian suburb of Puteaux while supporting the presidential campaigns of Faure Gnassingbe in Togo and Alpha Conde in Guinea between 2009 and 2011, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Authorities began formally investigating Bollore in 2018 following accusations that his business empire provided below-market-rate services to political candidates in both African nations as part of a scheme to secure profitable port management contracts.
The Bollore family’s business empire previously controlled extensive shipping and logistics operations across Africa before divesting those holdings to MSC Group in 2022. The family maintains controlling interests in major publicly traded corporations including media giant Vivendi and advertising company Havas.
Two additional defendants will join Bollore in court: former Vivendi board member Gilles Alix and Jean-Philippe Dorent, who currently serves as head of Havas International Consulting, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Neither Bollore nor his legal representatives have issued statements regarding the charges.
