Equatorial Guinea leader’s son on trial
Print Edition
THE playboy son of Equatorial Guinea’s leader, notorious for his extravagant taste in cars, homes and Michael Jackson memorabilia, went on trial yesterday in Paris charged with plundering his country’s coffers to fund his jetset lifestyle in France.
Teodorin Obiang, his country’s vice president, is accused of using state money to buy a mansion on one of the swankiest avenues in Paris as well as a collection of Italian supercars and other luxury items.
His lawyers have said they will call for the trial to be adjourned, saying they need more time to prepare his defense.
The trial is the first arising out of an investigation into the French assets of a trio of African leaders accused of leading a life of luxury abroad while their citizens live in poverty.
The 47-year-old son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema is not expected to attend the trial where he has been charged with corruption, embezzlement, misuse of public funds and breach of trust.
US officials have already forced him to forfeit property bought with the proceeds of corruption, accusing him of “shamelessly” looting his country. His house on Avenue Foch in Paris, which boasts a cinema, spa, hair salon and taps covered in gold leaf, is estimated to be worth around 107 million euros (US$112 million).
When French officials first launched raids in Paris in 2011, they hired trucks to haul away his Bugattis, Ferraris, Rolls Royce and other cars.
The case sets a precedent for France which has long turned a blind eye to African dictators who routinely park their ill-gotten gains in Parisian real estate and luxury products.
It came about after nearly a decade of lobbying by anti-corruption groups Sherpa and Transparency International.
Equatorial Guinea, Africa’s only Spanish-speaking nation, is the continent’s third-biggest oil producer.
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