Bollore corruption claims spark political questions in Guinea

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A political row is brewing in Guinea following allegations that a French billionaire has had corrupt dealings in the West African nation.

Vincent Bollore, the 66-year-old head of the Bollore Group, was charged in France last week after authorities launched an investigation into how its African logistics subsidiary secured contracts to run Lome port in Togo and Conakry port in Guinea.

The Autonomous Port of Conakry, Guinea pictured on April 13, 2016 /VCG Photo

Prosecutors are looking at whether Bollore Group's communications arm, Havas, undercharged Guinean President Alpha Conde and Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe for work on their campaigns as a sweetener for the contracts. The Bollore Group has denied the accusations.

Conde to file complaint

Conde said on Thursday he would file a complaint in the French courts over allegations raised in the corruption case. "I shall bring a complaint in Paris for false accusation," Conde told reporters in Conakry, without giving further details.

Guinea's President Alpha Conde /VCG Photo

Conde also took aim at the Guinean press for, in his view, failing "to defend the nation."

"You never protested when they tell stories about your country because you continue to misinform the population," said Conde, 80, stating that local journalists had "not sought to find out the truth here."

Opposition calls for inquiry

On Wednesday, opposition lawmakers called for a parliamentary inquiry into Bollore's dealings in Guinea. The opposition holds just 37 of a total of 114 seats in parliament so will require support from at least some of Conde's allies in order to move forward with an inquiry, but the call shows the risk of a public backlash in West Africa to the news.

"We demand the creation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry to shine light on the Bollore affair," Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, an MP from opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo's Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), told Reuters.

Bollore denies wrongdoing

Bollore's lawyer, Olivier Baratelli, has denied any wrongdoing by his client, who is under formal investigation for allegations including corrupting foreign public officials and complicity in breach of trust, forgery and use of forgery, a French judicial source told Reuters.

Allegations in Guinea center on a concession to manage and expand the container terminal in the capital Conakry. France's Getma International won the contract in a 2008 tender, beating rivals including Bollore - the dominant port and rail operator across French-speaking West and Central Africa.

Vincent Bollore's lawyers Olivier Baratelli (R) and Celine Astolfe (L) at the anti-corruption police office in Paris, April 25, 2018. /VCG Photo

Guinea's current president Conde came to power after narrowly defeating Diallo in a 2010 election and cancelled the agreement with Getma in March of the following year. Bollore took over the concession the same month.

Former transport minister Alpha Ibrahima Keira said last week that Havas' work during the election had nothing to do with the decision, which the government says was the result of a legal tendering process.

Bollore Group has also denied any link between the communications consultancy and the port business. In a newspaper opinion article on Sunday, Bollore said the continent was wrongfully portrayed in France as a "land of misrule, even corruption."

Bollore sits at the head of a sprawling business empire with revenues of 22.4 billion US dollars in 2017 and interests in everything from construction and logistics to media, advertising and agriculture.

(With input from agencies)

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