Vincent Bolloré sold his African ports empire for €5.7 billion. African communities are now going after every bank that helped him do it

Vincent Bolloré sold his African logistics empire in 2022 for €5.7 billion ($6.6 billion). A coalition of African communities is now going after every financial institution that helped make that transaction happen.

The Collectif Restitution pour l'Afrique, a coalition of 11 NGOs from six African countries known as RAF, asked a Paris judge last week to compel Morgan Stanley in France to provide internal documents related to its advisory role in the sale of Bolloré SE's African transport and logistics business to MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co.

The anti-corruption association wants to see how a 2021 bribery settlement by Bolloré SE was factored into the valuation of the asset by the US bank, review the engagement letter detailing the scope of Morgan Stanley's involvement and determine its fee structure.

The question RAF is putting before the court is direct. If Morgan Stanley knew Bolloré SE had settled corruption charges related to the very African port concessions it was being asked to value and sell, what due diligence did it perform? And if it did not perform adequate due diligence, did it lend credibility to a transaction that effectively converted allegedly corrupt gains into a clean €5.7 billion windfall?

RAF accused Bolloré of money laundering and fraud, arguing that the continued operation of port concessions in Togo, Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon, which it claims were obtained through bribery and improper means, constituted receiving stolen goods, and that the 2022 sale to MSC amounted to the laundering and conversion of those proceeds.

The Morgan Stanley action is part of a broader legal architecture RAF is constructing around the sale. The coalition is simultaneously pursuing private bank Hottinguer, which also advised on the transaction, and has filed lawsuits against HSBC, Société Générale and Crédit Mutuel over their longstanding roles as commercial banks for the Bolloré group.

From those three banks, RAF is seeking documents showing what risk rating they assigned to Bolloré SE, how that rating changed after Bolloré was first charged in 2018 and following the firm's 2021 settlement, and what role, if any, they played in collecting revenues from the African port concessions and in settling the sale price.

RAF is considering using its right under French law to file a criminal complaint against Morgan Stanley. Paris judges are expected to review the document requests during September 2026 hearings. Morgan Stanley and Société Générale declined to provide statements. The other banks and a lawyer for Bolloré did not respond to requests for comment.

Vincent Bolloré, born in 1952 and the son of a Breton paper manufacturing dynasty, built one of West and Central Africa's most powerful logistics empires across more than four decades, operating 16 container terminals, seven roll-on roll-off terminals, three railway lines and a presence in 47 countries at the peak of its reach. The business employed more than 20,000 people and generated approximately €2.1 billion in annual revenue at the time of the 2022 sale. His personal net worth is estimated at approximately $8.7 billion.

Bolloré is set to stand trial at the Paris criminal court from December 7 to 17, 2026, on charges of bribery of a foreign public official in Togo and complicity in breach of trust in Togo and Guinea. The case centers on contracts to operate container terminals in Togo signed shortly after Havas, a communications firm Bolloré controlled, allegedly provided discounted campaigning services that facilitated the election of President Faure Gnassingbé. A 2021 plea deal that Bolloré had negotiated with prosecutors, which would have resulted in a €12 million fine, was thrown out by a judge who concluded the gravity of the case required a trial. The company itself settled separately and paid the fine.

RAF's objective is to recover all or part of the €5.7 billion obtained by Bolloré from the 2022 sale and redistribute those funds to communities in Africa. "Bolloré made his fortune through corruption on the African continent and is now seeking to convert those profits back into media influence," said the group's founder in a statement last year.

Bolloré's media interests, which include significant stakes in Canal+ and a range of French television, radio and publishing assets, have expanded since the logistics sale was completed. Critics have argued those media holdings give Bolloré insulation from scrutiny that other figures facing criminal proceedings would not enjoy.

The September document hearings will determine how much of the Morgan Stanley advisory process becomes visible to the court. What RAF finds there could determine whether a criminal complaint against the bank follows.