By Tom Vaillant
DOUALA – Vincent Bolloré built an empire that would make colonial administrators envious: 16 container terminals, 22 inland ports, Cameroon’s entire 1,000km railway, and 400,000 hectares of plantations. Until 2022, one French billionaire controlled the infrastructure through which much of West and Central Africa trades with the world.
The Corruption Foundation
In 2021, French courts convicted Bolloré Group of corruption. The scheme: offer below-market PR services to presidential candidates through Havas advertising agency, then collect payment in port contracts.
Police raided Bolloré Tower outside Paris, finding evidence of election interference in Guinea and Togo. Alpha Condé and Faure Gnassingbé received campaign services worth millions for pennies. In return? 35-year port management contracts worth hundreds of millions.
The fine was 12 million euros—which pales compared to the 5.7 billion euros Bolloré received when selling his logistics empire to MSC in 2022.
Controlling the Chokehold
Bolloré’s genius lay in vertical integration. Control the ports where goods enter and exit. Own the railways that move them inland. Through Canal+, shape public opinion among 8 million African subscribers. When communities protest plantation abuses, restrict their export access. When journalists investigate, unleash the lawyers.
Since 2009, Bolloré entities filed over 30 SLAPP suits against journalists, NGOs, and activists. These lawsuits rarely win but successfully drain critics’ resources and create fear. The message is clear: investigate us at your own financial peril.
While Bolloré sold logistics, he kept Socfin—the plantation company now under international scrutiny. Through a deliberately complex structure of holding companies, Bolloré maintains nearly 40% ownership while obscuring responsibility.
An Empire Built on Extraction
The ownership structure is designed for legal immunity. When Cameroonian villagers seek justice, they face a maze: local operator Socapalm, parent company Socfin, Swiss management firms, and ultimately Bolloré. Each points to the others, creating endless loops of non-responsibility.
Today, 60+ African NGOs led by Sherpa demand something unprecedented: the entire 5.7 billion euros from the logistics sale as restitution. They argue this fortune was built on systematic corruption and should return to African communities.
Vincent Bolloré faces up to 10 years imprisonment in ongoing proceedings. But even conviction won’t reform the system. New owners operate the ports. Plantations keep expanding. The extraction continues.
