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- Son of Equatorial Guinea’s president and the country’s vice president fined for misappropriating public money
- The French Court upholds the lower court’s order for the confiscation of his ill-gotten assets.
A Paris court has fined Teodorin Obiang, son of Equatorial Guinea’s president and the country’s vice president, 30 million euros ($32.9m) for misappropriating public money. The court also ordered a three-year suspended jail term and confiscation of his assets.
In 2017, a French court found Obiang, guilty of misusing his country’s state coffers to fund his jet-set lifestyle in Europe and was given a three-year jail term as well as the 30 million-euro fine. Obiang challenged that penalty. However, the Paris appeals court returned a heavier sentence by removing the suspended provision from the fine. It reconfirmed his conviction on a range of charges – such as embezzlement of public funds, misuse of corporate assets and breach of trust – and upheld the lower court’s order for the confiscation of his ill-gotten assets.
The 50-year-old Obiang reportedly had an exceptional liking for fast cars and Michael Jackson memorabilia. The case was taken up by two anti-corruption NGOs. According to Prosecutors, he laundered 150 million euros ($163.6m) in France. He owns a 107 million-euro ($116.7m) mansion in an upscale part of Paris, which was seized by French authorities. Apart from the mansion, he owns high-end sports and luxury cars and led a luxurious life. William Bourdon, a lawyer for Transparency International, one of the NGOs that initiated the case, called the process as a ‘legal marathon’. In September 2019, the government of Switzerland auctioned off a collection of luxury cars seized by authorities from Teodorin Obiang.
Obiang joined his father’s cabinet as the agriculture and forestry minister. In 2012, he was promoted as Vice President by his father, who has ruled the oil-rich country for 40 years. It was a clear signal that he is to take over the leadership one day. Equatorial Guinea is the third-biggest oil producer in Africa. The country is infamous for human rights violations, widespread corruption, repressive laws and a high level of poverty.
Obiang’s lawyers have approached the International Court of Justice claiming that the property should fall under the protection given to diplomatic buildings. A hearing of the case is scheduled to take place in The Hague next week.
