MillenniumPost
World

Playboy son of E Guinea leader goes on trial in France

The playboy son of Equatorial Guinea’s leader, notorious for his extravagant taste in cars, homes and Michael Jackson memorabilia, was to appear on trial on Monday 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 would be calling on Monday for the trial to be adjourned, saying they need more time to prepare his defence. 

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 shopaholic 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 ($112 million). 

When French judicial 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. 

“In the beginning, there was simply no political will in France to listen to us,” William Bourdon, a lawyer for Sherpa, wrote in September. French prosecutors allege that party-loving Obiang lined his pockets to the tune of nearly 110 million euros between 2004-2011, when he was agriculture minister for his father, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. 

As agriculture minister, the permanent bachelor held a powerful position that gave him control over the lucrative timber industry which is Equatorial Guinea’s main export after oil. A so-called “revolutionary” tax imposed on wood sales was transferred to his personal accounts, prosecutors allege.

He has “always said that he earned the money legally in his country,” one of his lawyers, Emmanuel Marsigny, told AFP. Obiang fought unsuccessfully to prevent the trial. 
Next Story
Share it