A recording testifies to the practices of illicit cigarette trade between Burkina Faso and Mali

The recording of a meeting between an intermediary of Apollinaire Compaoré, a cigarette magnate in Burkina Faso, and the head of the state tobacco company in Mali confirms the practices of corruption and illicit cigarette trade between these two countries.

Senegalese Safy Mokoko Sow said she has been working for around thirty years with Apollinaire Compaoré, one of the main tobacco players in Burkina Faso, in activities, in her words, of "facilitating" the "transit of cigarettes" through other African countries.

During the month of August 2017, Safy Mokoko Sow met with Issouf Traoré, the general director of the Malian Tobacco and Match Company (Sonatam), and recorded their conversation in order to report back to Mr. Compaoré. This recording was recovered by journalists from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP); they verified with a computer security expert that the recording had not been altered and could therefore be considered authentic.[1].

Bribery attempt to stop cigarette seizures

During this 90-minute interview, Safy Mokoko Sow hoped to get Issouf Traoré to use his influence to intervene with customs to stop the seizures of illicit convoys of American Legend brand cigarettes in northern Mali. She offered Mr. Traoré the sum of 100 million CFA francs (150,000 euros) in order to gain his support, without him accepting this offer. Mr. Traoré did not follow up on Ms. Mokoko Sow's requests, arguing that this trafficking finances terrorist groups in Mali.

Faced with Ms Mokoko Sow's insistence, Mr Traoré in return questioned her as to whether these American Legend cigarettes were produced in Greece and whether their destination was Algeria. Failing to answer clearly, Ms Mokoko Sow then boasted about the networks she had managed to build in Africa and mentioned her intervention in unblocking a shipment of cigarettes sequestered in the port of Lomé (Togo). Realising that she would get nothing from Mr Traoré, Ms Mokoko Sow concluded that she would refer the matter to Mr Compaoré.

OCCRP journalists confirmed that seven containers of American Legend cigarettes belonging to the company SOBUREX, owned by Apollinaire Compaoré, had indeed been consigned to the port of Lomé in October 2016, for several months, at a time corresponding to that mentioned by Ms. Mokoko Sow. Togolese customs had lifted the blockade of the containers, without providing any real explanation. The Greek company Karelia, manufacturer of American Legend cigarettes and distributor in Europe for Philip Morris International (PMI), told OCCRP that it had stopped all activity with Mr. Compaoré several years ago.

Apollinaire Compaoré's SOBUREX suspected of smuggling

OCCRP was also able to obtain an unpublished report from ADIT, a French strategic intelligence firm that received funding from PMI Impact. The report found that Mr. Compaoré’s company SOBUREX was involved in the smuggling of billions of cigarettes, at a rate of one billion every four or five months, and that these illicit activities funded terrorist groups. ADIT estimated that each convoy brought Mr. Compaoré between €7 million and €18 million in profits by avoiding taxes. Mr. Compaoré denied an OCCRP report on this subject in Le Monde.[2]. PMI, of which Mr Compaoré is a distributor, for its part referred to a previous statement denying any knowledge of trafficking to neighbouring countries of its products intended for Burkina Faso.

The international ramifications of Mr Compaoré's activities

Owner of numerous companies in the most varied sectors and president of the National Council of Burkinabe Employers (CNPB), Apollinaire Compaoré is one of the richest men in Burkina Faso.[3]. He is also well known for its illicit cigarette trading activities in several African countries. The cigarettes transiting through Mali are said to be destined to supply the parallel market in North Africa, as well as in Europe. Sonatam, for its part, is the subject of a partnership between British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands, two tobacco multinationals that have also were cited in cases of smuggling and financing of terrorist groups in Mali, while denouncing those of their competitor PMI.

Keywords: Burkina Faso, Mali, SOBUREX, Apollinaire Compaoré, Sonatam, Issouf Traoré, PMI, BAT, Imperial Brands, illicit trade, ADIT.

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[1] O'Brien J, Alleged Associate of Burkinabè Cigarette Tycoon Apollinaire Compaoré Caught on Tape Attempting to Bribe Malian Official, OCCRP, published May 16, 2023, accessed May 17, 2023.

[2] In Burkina, the president of the employers' association denies any "trafficking" with the jihadists, Le Monde, published March 23, 2021, consulted May 17, 2023.

[3] Cigarette trafficking in the Sahel: what the UN really says about Apollinaire Compaoré, Jeune Afrique, published September 1, 2021, consulted May 17, 2023.