France, March 19 -- African civil society groups have filed a complaint against French billionaire Vincent Bollore, his son Cyrille and Bollore Group for alleged money laundering and concealment of what they claim are ill-gotten gains linked to port operations across Africa.

The complaint was submitted to the National Financial Prosecutor's Office in Paris on Tuesday by "Restitution pour l'Afrique" (RAF), a collective of 11 NGOs from six African countries: Togo, Guinea, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The collective accuses the French conglomerate of systematically using corrupt practices to secure lucrative port concessions in at least five African nations before selling its African logistics operations...