Africa: Philip Morris smuggling finances terrorist organizations

Investigative work by an international network of journalists shows that the representative of Philip Morris International in Burkina Faso is one of the major figures in African illicit trade, and a long-time associate of armed and criminal networks in North Africa.[1].

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a group of investigative journalists from around the world, has been able to access confidential documents, court records and conducted numerous interviews to demonstrate that Philip Morris International, through its facilitation of illicit trade in Africa, contributes to the financing of terrorist and criminal organizations.

Apollinaire Compaoré, representative of Philip Morris

Apollinaire Compaoré, Philip Morris’ representative in Burkina Faso, is known as one of the country’s richest men and its “most dynamic investor.” According to OCCRP, Apollinaire Compaoré heads a business empire spanning five African countries, including insurance, trade, telecommunications, motorcycles and lottery. In 2020, Jeune Afrique ranked the tycoon among the continent’s 100 most influential people.

A major figure in smuggling in Africa

But Apollinaire Compaoré, who had long been linked to former Burkinabe President Blaise Compaoré (1987-2014), is also known to be a major tobacco trafficker in six West African countries, from Côte d’Ivoire to Libya. According to OCCRP, Apollinaire Compaoré was behind the illegal circulation of billions of cigarettes across Burkina Faso, financing various armed groups and fueling a deadly conflict in the region. The Marlboro smuggling also helped finance routes later used for cocaine and human trafficking in the Sahel. In addition, OCCRP journalists document that Compaoré had close business relationships with Chérif Ould Abidine, known as “Chérif Cocaine,” known for his drug trafficking across the Sahel and linked to terrorist organizations affiliated with al-Qaeda.

A lucrative market

While he remains the "Marlboro man," Apollinaire Compaoré's involvement in illicit trade is public knowledge. The business leader has also been identified as a smuggler by the United Nations itself. This trade is particularly lucrative: a former business partner interviewed by OCCRP claims that tobacco smuggling brings in several million euros for the "boss of bosses."

Proven links to crime and terrorism

Although Philip Morris has not publicly indicated anything about its collaboration with Compaoré, the person concerned dates it back to 1996, the year his two distribution companies, Suburex and Sodicom, were created, and they had a close relationship with each other. A report from the UN Security Council, as well as an article published in Le Monde, pointed out in 2019 the involvement of Suburex in smuggling, and its links with armed and terrorist groups. According to Raoul Setrouk, a former consultant to Philip Morris, the tobacco manufacturer was aware of the situation. In order not to appear involved in these gray areas, Philip Morris covered these "sensitive markets" through its partner Rashideen.

A factor of geopolitical imbalance in Africa

According to Hassane Amadou Diallon, director of Transparency International in Niger, tobacco smuggling is "the primary cause of instability and insecurity in the country." For the expert, the illicit tobacco trade has financed crime, which has weakened customs and the army, allowed the proliferation of weapons and the occupation of geographical areas by terrorist organizations. Philip Morris, prosecuted in the European Union for its role in organizing illicit trade, continues to affirm its commitment to the fight against smuggling. However, the Burkinabe market is deliberately oversupplied by the tobacco industry. Each year, the country imports one billion euros worth of tobacco, meaning that each Burkinabe smokes at least ten packets per day. In reality, it is estimated that two-thirds of this merchandise is intended for smuggling, which will then be used to purchase stocks of weapons and gold for various militias.

This example, far from being an isolated case, stresses that contrary to what its public discourse suggests, the tobacco industry remains directly linked to international smuggling, and to the financing of criminal and mafia organizations, and contributes to the geopolitical imbalance in this part of the continent.

[1] OCCRP, Marlboro's Man: Philip Morris' Representative in Burkina Faso is a Known Cigarette Smuggler, February 26, 2021, (accessed 03/02/2021)