Equatorial Guinea’s ruling family has been shaken by a dramatic corruption case that ended with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema’s nephew, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, sentenced to eight years behind bars.
Engonga, popularly called “Bello” for his good looks, once held the powerful position of head of the National Financial Investigation Agency. But a court ruled that he, along with five accomplices, siphoned public money for private use, falsely presenting amounts between $9,000 (£6,600) and $220,000 as travel allowances.
His fall from grace began last year, when prosecutors accused him of funneling embezzled state funds into hidden Cayman Islands accounts. While still in custody, his name hit global headlines again when explicit videos featuring him with multiple women, including spouses and relatives of political elites, flooded the internet.
The recordings’ origin was never verified, but since his seized computers and phones were under the control of security forces at the time, speculation quickly mounted that the scandal was engineered to crush any ambitions Engonga may have had of rising within the regime.
Once a figure charged with fighting financial crime, Engonga found himself locked away in Malabo’s infamous Black Beach prison, his career and reputation in ruins.
In addition to the prison term, judges reportedly ordered him to pay a $220,000 fine, according to Supreme Court press director Hilario Mitogo, who relayed the verdict to journalists in a WhatsApp message cited by AFP.
Meanwhile, President Obiang, who has ruled since 1979 and holds the record as the world’s longest-serving head of state, has already elevated his son, Teodoro Obiang Mangue, to the post of vice president, cementing the family’s succession plan and leaving Engonga sidelined by scandal.
