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IN FOCUS

The Focus pieces are the result of the Africa Intelligence editorial team's long-term investigations and aim to provide an in-depth analysis of the networks of political leaders and key players across the African continent.

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AFRICA 18/11/2019

Putin and African leaders in the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit.

Russia's electoral "experts" aim to conquer Africa

Although controversial in Russia itself, Russian electoral know-how has become an export product, notably in Africa. Russian pollsters, consultants and analysts are besieging African presidencies with offers of opinion polls and vote surveillance techniques, which they present as antidotes to Western interference. [...]

DJIBOUTI 04/11/2019

The Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port in Djibouti.

Ismael Omar Guelleh loses control of the ports, the country's principal resource

Following the funeral of the chairman of the Port of Djibouti authority Saad Omar Guelleh, half-brother of head of state Ismaël Omar Guelleh, Aboubaker Omar Hadi, head of the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority, is steadily becoming the sector's strong man. [...]

LIBYA 21/10/2019

A view of the Central Bank of Libya in central Tripoli.

Washington, Doha and Ankara wrestle for control of Central Bank of Libya

The unification of the two Central Banks of Libya (CBL) is a priority for Washington, which has been doing all in its power since September to oust the powerful governor of the Tripoli CBL, Al Seddik Omar Al Kabir. [...]

AFRICA 07/10/2019

Monaco Resources, the principality's mysterious African trading company

In less than 10 years, an enigmatic Monaco company, Monaco Resources, has established itself in all sectors of the African economy - from mines and agri-business to port logistics and trading. Its rapid but uncharted success has been financed by borrowing on European bond markets. [...]

FRANCE QATAR CHAD 23/09/2019

Macron manœuvres in secret to save Idriss Deby

French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is continuing to lobby in favour of the regime of Idriss Deby, a faithful partner of France whose position has been rendered fragile by a changing regional environment. Agents of France's DGSE external intelligence service have even warned off his nephew in Qatar, rebel leader Timan Erdimi. [...]

UNITED STATES MAURITANIA NIGER 09/09/2019

The USAF air base in Agadez, a key building site for Gecoba, the group of Khalidou Moussa Ba.

Khalidou Moussa Ba builds for the Pentagon all over West Africa

Construction group Gecoba, a preferred US Army partner company owned by Mauritanian national Khalidou Moussa Ba, has won contracts worth several million dollars in Central and West Africa since 2013. It is heavily involved, notably, in the construction of a huge strategic air base in Agadez in Niger. [...]

ALGERIA CHINA IRAN UNITED KINGDOM 29/07/2019

The oil tanker 'Mesdar' was blocked on July 19 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Sonatrach caught in the crossfire between London and Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz

The Algerian oil group Sonatrach unexpectedly caught up in the crisis which affected oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19. Africa Intelligence here reconstitutes the tense 24-hour stand-off played out between Algiers, Tehran, London and Beijing. [...]

DRC 15/07/2019

Moise Katumbi, wearing a TP Mazembe jersey, salutes supporters in the club stadium in Lubumbashi.

Mining rivals Katumbi and Beveraggi settle their scores on the football pitch

French businessman Pascal Beveraggi, who recently arrived in the Katangan mining logistics market, has run into competition from the "master of Lubumbashi", Congolese politician and business magnate Moise Katumbi. Beveraggi, who is already battling with him in the courts and the media, has decided to tackle his rival, too, on his preferred battleground, the football pitch. [...]

SOMALIA 01/07/2019

Local radio stations related to Fahad Yasin in Somalia.

Deputy intelligence director Fahad Yasin is UN sub-contractor in fight against Al Shabaab

To counter the Al Shabaab Islamist movement which makes great use of social media, the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) have set up a wide-ranging information campaign. The campaigns advance positions are represented by a host of local radio stations situated at the heart of Al Shabaab's zone of influence. [...]

BURKINA FASO DRC GABON MONACO SENEGAL 17/06/2019

Lecourt family rent Monaco letter boxes to African oligarchs

The Lecourt family, which has been established on the Rock of Monaco for the last two generations, began in the soap business before going on to build up a profitable agricultural trading business and then a cleaning business of a non-corporal sort, registering companies in Monaco for third parties. [...]

AFRICA QATAR 03/06/2019

Armoured Storm Vehicles assembled by qatari firm Stark Motors delivery in Burkina Faso, May 9, 2019

Sheikh Tamim tries to build alliances in Africa with his brother-in-law's troop carriers

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim, is trying to wean Mali, Burkina Faso and Somalia off their dependence on Saudi Arabia by supplying their armies with armoured vehicles produced by young Qatari company Stark Motors… which is owned by his brother-in-law Abdulhadi Mana Al Hajri. [...]

MOROCCO 20/05/2019

The deadline for deciding the future of the refinery has been set for July 18.

Oil companies ready to do battle over future of leading African refiner SAMIR

Morocco's SAMIR refining company will find out on July 18 whether it is to be taken over or sold off piecemeal. Its 200,000-bpd refining capacity interests several major companies, notably BB Energy and Glencore, while Spain's Cepsa and Morocco's Afriquia are both keen to get their hands on its storage facilities. [...]

CENTRAL AFRICA WEST AFRICA BURKINA FASO 06/05/2019

Liza Transport International's Falcon 7X in Ebomaf Force One video featuring Chocki.

Mahamadou Bonkoungou flies high in construction thanks to presidential aviation business

As business magnates Michel Tomi and Samuel Dossou see their business aviation companies go into nosedive, the aircraft operated by Burkina Faso's Mahamadou Bonkoungou are attracting bookings from presidencies throughout West Africa and will soon start flying from Central Africa as well. [...]

BURKINA FASO MALI NIGER 22/04/2019

The Burkinabe president Roch Kaboré wants to negotiate a status quo with jihadists.

Kabore follows Compaore's example and talks to the Jihadists

Burkinabe president Roch Kabore, who is receiving generous subsidies to help him combat the radical groups operating on his borders, is conducting parallel negotiations with the very Jihadists he is supposed to be fighting. In so doing, he is following the example set by his predecessor, Blaise Compaore, whose entourage never broke contact with the armed Jihadi groups. [...]

LIBYA SUDAN CHAD 08/04/2019

Tibesti, in northern Chad, is at the heart of the conflict between rebels and the military.

Rebels and military caught up in Tibesti gold fever

Since the start of the year, the Chadian, Libyan and even Sudanese armies have been carrying out offensives and counter-offensives against ephemeral rebel groups in the Tibesti desert in northern Chad. At stake are the gold seams running across the region which are being fought over by rebels and army officers alike. [...]

DRC 25/03/2019

The city of Manono represents a strategic challenge for lithium exploration.

Congolese lithium capital Manono set to come under Kabila clan control

After having reigned over Congo-K for the last 22 years, the Kabila family needs to invent a new future for itself. Having left the presidential throne to Felix Tshisekedi in January, the clan has been working for the last two months on plans to fall back on its native Tanganyika province in eastern Congo-K, and, more specifically, to the town of Manono, which, in recent years, has become the capital of African lithium prospecting. [...]

FRANCE QATAR CHAD 11/03/2019

Idriss Deby wants to end the maneuvers of his nephew Timan Erdimi, refugee in Qatar.

Chad: France and Qatar negotiate in secret over Idriss Deby's future

The guerilla force currently laying siege to the regime of Idriss Deby is being directed from Doha by his nephew, Timan Erdimi. The situation is acutely embarrassing for the Chadian president but also for Paris, which is allies with Qatar but is fighting alongside the Chadian army against the rebellion. [...]

GABON 09/08/2018

Gagan Gupta, Ali Bongo's favourite Indian tycoon

While French multinationals in Gabon have gone broke like Rougier and Necotrans or battle with the presidency like Veolia and Eramet, Indo-Singaporean group Olam has gone from strength to strength. The man behind its success, its Gabon country director Gagan Gupta, has succeeded in forging close links with the Gabonese presidency. [...]

SOUTH SUDAN 07/08/2018

The Asian business interests of South Sudan's presidential family

Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan since its independence in 2011, has also been presiding, though more discreetly, over one of leading family consortiums in this fledgling country. Many members of his family are active in business, often in partnership with Asian companies. [...]

AFRICA SAUDI ARABIA QATAR 02/08/2018

Limam Chafi, Boni Yayi and Adam Toure, the African emissaries working for rival Gulf brothers

The cold war triggered between Qatar and Saudi Arabia a year ago has had a ripple effect across Africa, where each oil monarch wants to rally as many supporters to his side as possible. Without a network of power on the continent, Riyadh and Doha have both turned to former African presidential advisors known for their discretion. [...]

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IN FOCUS

Russia's electoral "experts" aim to conquer Africa

Ismael Omar Guelleh loses control of the ports, the country's principal resource

Washington, Doha and Ankara wrestle for control of Central Bank of Libya

Monaco Resources, the principality's mysterious African trading company

Macron manœuvres in secret to save Idriss Deby

Khalidou Moussa Ba builds for the Pentagon all over West Africa

Sonatrach caught in the crossfire between London and Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz

Mining rivals Katumbi and Beveraggi settle their scores on the football pitch

Deputy intelligence director Fahad Yasin is UN sub-contractor in fight against Al Shabaab

Lecourt family rent Monaco letter boxes to African oligarchs

Sheikh Tamim tries to build alliances in Africa with his brother-in-law's troop carriers

Oil companies ready to do battle over future of leading African refiner SAMIR

Mahamadou Bonkoungou flies high in construction thanks to presidential aviation business

Kabore follows Compaore's example and talks to the Jihadists

Rebels and military caught up in Tibesti gold fever

Congolese lithium capital Manono set to come under Kabila clan control

Chad: France and Qatar negotiate in secret over Idriss Deby's future

Gagan Gupta, Ali Bongo's favourite Indian tycoon

The Asian business interests of South Sudan's presidential family

Limam Chafi, Boni Yayi and Adam Toure, the African emissaries working for rival Gulf brothers

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