Equatorial Guinea Court Convicts President’s Son For Selling National Plane
- A court in Equatorial Guinea has convicted President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s son for illegally selling a national airline aircraft
- Ruslan Obiang Nsue faces six years in prison unless he repays the state for the missing plane
- The ruling adds to mounting legal scrutiny surrounding the president’s family
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A court in Equatorial Guinea has convicted Ruslan Obiang Nsue, son of long-serving President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, for the illegal sale of a national airline aircraft, a senior judicial official confirmed.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that Obiang Nsue, 50, must serve six years in prison unless he reimburses the state for the missing ATR 72-500 aircraft, according to Hilario Mitogo, press director for the court.
Source: Twitter
The plane, which belonged to Ceiba Intercontinental, was sold to a Spanish company, with Obiang Nsue allegedly pocketing the proceeds.
Mitogo stated via WhatsApp that the court had offered Obiang Nsue an alternative to incarceration: “He could avoid jail if he paid around $255,000 to the airline, along with damages and a fine to the state.”
Obiang Nsue, who previously served as director of the national carrier and held the post of secretary of state for sports and youth, was placed under house arrest in 2023. The order came from his half-brother, Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, also a son of the president.
Court acquits Obiang Nsue of embezzlement and abuse of office
While the court found Obiang Nsue guilty of the illegal sale, it acquitted him on separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.
The ruling adds to a growing list of legal troubles involving members of the presidential family. In a separate case, a French court in July 2021 handed Vice-President Obiang Mangue a suspended jail sentence and imposed a $35-million fine after convicting him of embezzling public funds.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83, has ruled the oil-rich central African nation for 46 years, making him one of the world’s longest-serving leaders.
Source: Facebook
Equatorial Guinea jails Balthasar Engonga for embezzlement
Legit.ng earlier reported that a senior government official in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement, months after becoming the centre of a global scandal involving leaked sex tapes.
The Bioko provincial tribunal found Engonga guilty of misappropriating public funds, specifically diverting money claimed as professional travel expenses for personal use.
The conviction was confirmed by Hilario Mitogo, press director of the Supreme Court, who communicated the verdict to reporters via WhatsApp. Engonga, formerly the head of the national financial investigation agency, was among six senior officials accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich central African nation. The court also imposed a fine of $220,000 on Engonga, according to Mitogo.
Source: Legit.ng
