On Oct. 27, a court in Paris convicted the eldest son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, in absentia for embezzling tens of millions of euros from his government and laundering the proceeds in France.
Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue was sentenced in absentia to a suspended three-year jail sentence and forfeiture of assets in France valued at more than €100 million (US$116.42 million). Obiang was nowhere to be seen at the trial.
Equatorial Guinea, a tiny nation of only 1.25 million people tucked between Gabon and Cameroon on Africa’s western flank, is nonetheless one of the continent’s biggest oil producers, much of which is bought in the United States. The country’s oil riches have earned President Obiang photo ops with Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama although Transparency International ranks Equatorial Guinea among the world’s 12 most corrupt states. It ranks 144th on the United Nations Human Development Index. Some 20 percent of its children die before the age of 5.
Because the sentence and fine are suspended, they will only go into effect if Teodorin, as Obiang’s son is known, commits another crime in France. He has 10 days to appeal, according to a press statement from Human Rights Watch.
But if Teodorin is troubled at the loss of his €100 million, he has plenty of comfort left. According to a study of the notorious Tanzania-based FBME Bank, the President of Equatorial Guinea has at least US$70 million stashed in the Cyprus unit of the bank. Full story...
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Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue was sentenced in absentia to a suspended three-year jail sentence and forfeiture of assets in France valued at more than €100 million (US$116.42 million). Obiang was nowhere to be seen at the trial.
Equatorial Guinea, a tiny nation of only 1.25 million people tucked between Gabon and Cameroon on Africa’s western flank, is nonetheless one of the continent’s biggest oil producers, much of which is bought in the United States. The country’s oil riches have earned President Obiang photo ops with Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama although Transparency International ranks Equatorial Guinea among the world’s 12 most corrupt states. It ranks 144th on the United Nations Human Development Index. Some 20 percent of its children die before the age of 5.
Because the sentence and fine are suspended, they will only go into effect if Teodorin, as Obiang’s son is known, commits another crime in France. He has 10 days to appeal, according to a press statement from Human Rights Watch.
But if Teodorin is troubled at the loss of his €100 million, he has plenty of comfort left. According to a study of the notorious Tanzania-based FBME Bank, the President of Equatorial Guinea has at least US$70 million stashed in the Cyprus unit of the bank. Full story...
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