A Moroccan group gets the green light in France to recover nearly 17 million euros
Retail Holding Africa has just obtained in France the enforcement of an arbitral award ordering Ivorian-Lebanese businessman Yasser Ezzedine and his company Newmont to pay it nearly 17 million euros, plus 336,750 dollars and interest.
The decision was issued on September 3, 2026, by the Paris Court of Appeal. It allows the Moroccan group to pursue the recovery of the sums awarded by an arbitral tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce, without waiting for the outcome of the action to set aside the award brought by Yasser Ezzedine.
The case dates back to 2019. Yasser Ezzedine and his Seychelles-based company Newmont had sold Retail Holding Africa the 39.99% stake they held in Compagnie de Distribution de Côte d’Ivoire (CDCI). The price of this stake had been set at 33.5 million euros.
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The transaction enabled Retail Holding, a Moroccan group that notably controls Label’Vie, to take full control of one of the leading players in Côte d’Ivoire’s retail sector. The sale of Yasser Ezzedine’s shares had then been announced by L’Orient-Le Jour.
But just a few weeks after the sale, Yasser Ezzedine created SOCOCE CI. This new company entered the wholesale and semi-wholesale distribution business in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as the “cash & carry” distribution of food and non-food products.
Retail Holding Africa considered that this return to the same sector infringed the rights acquired when it bought CDCI. In the absence of an amicable agreement, the Moroccan group initiated arbitration proceedings against Yasser Ezzedine and Newmont in June 2023.
A ruling exceeding 17 million including costs
The arbitral tribunal ultimately did not find any violation of the non-compete clause included in the contract. It did, however, find that Yasser Ezzedine had breached the warranty against disturbance by the seller, which prohibits the seller from subsequently interfering with the enjoyment of the rights transferred to the buyer.
Yasser Ezzedine and Newmont were held jointly and severally liable to pay Retail Holding Africa 15,039,773 euros for the loss in value of the shares, as well as 1,214,523 euros in interest accrued before the award and 721,580 euros corresponding to other procedural costs.
This sum of 16,975,877 euros is supplemented by 336,750 dollars in arbitration costs, one symbolic euro for moral, image and reputational damages, as well as statutory interest accruing since November 26, 2025.
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Yasser Ezzedine and Newmont attempted to suspend enforcement by challenging the award before the French courts. They argued in particular that the restrictions imposed constituted a disproportionate infringement of the freedom to conduct business.
The Paris Court of Appeal rejected this request. It held that no manifest violation of international public policy justified blocking enforcement of the award, according to the order published by Pappers Justice.
The action to set aside the award remains pending, but it does not have suspensive effect. Retail Holding Africa therefore now has the necessary green light to seek to recover in France nearly 17 million euros, the costs in dollars and the interest owed by Yasser Ezzedine and Newmont.
