French tycoon hits back on graft claims
An investigation into French tycoon Vincent Bollore over suspected corruption in Africa is a rare exception among corporate titans doing business south of the Sahara.
Bollore — charged last week in connection with contracts to operate ports in Guinea and Togo — is the most prominent business leader to be investigated in France for suspicious activities in Africa.
Bollore went on the offensive on Sunday, claiming the case was rooted in prejudice about the continent.
In an article in French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, the head of the Bollore Group said the continent was wrongfully portrayed in France as a “land of misrule, even corruption. People imagine heads of state deciding by themselves to award huge contracts to unscrupulous investors,” he said.
Investigating magistrates on Thursday charged Bollore after allegations that his group’s communications arm undercharged the presidents of Guinea and Togo for work on their election campaigns as sweeteners for contracts to operate ports. The investigation stems largely from
the Sapin II law, passed in December 2016. This law compels French companies to take preventive steps against graft and beefs up measures dating back to 2000 that enable punishment for corrupt practices used to win public contracts abroad.
The tougher legislation came after years of criticism by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and nongovernment organisations, which accused France of turning a blind eye to corporate corruption abroad.
“Emerging nations that will take decades to incorporate ethical concerns into their search for market share” were a major obstacle, said William Bourbon, head of an anticorruption association called Sherpa.
“The most stereotypical are the Chinese, who intimidate the entire world and who, when it comes to corruption in Africa, act with complete impunity,” Bourbon said.
Many African countries languish in the bottom ranks of the annual Corruption Perceptions Index compiled by Transparency International.
“What matters most is for African governments to adopt a practice of zero tolerance concerning corruption. If this is done, wherever investors come from, they will have to abide by the laws,” said Samuel Kaninda, African regional adviser for Transparency International.
“The problem is not a lack of legal instruments [in Africa],” Kaninda said.
“It is that the institutions that fight against corruption suffer from a lack of independence at the political level.”
Setting a rare example, SA recently reopened proceedings against a subsidiary of French arms manufacturer Thales in an old case of alleged corruption. Former president Jacob Zuma has been charged on 16 counts of graft relating to alleged bribes by the company.