A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a nephew of long-serving President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, to eight years in prison for embezzling public funds.
The ruling was delivered by the provincial court in Bioko, which found Ebang—formerly the head of the National Financial Investigations Agency—guilty of misappropriating funds allocated for official travel expenses. The court also imposed a fine of approximately $220,000 (about 28.4 million CFA francs), a substantial penalty in the oil-rich Central African nation.
Ebang, widely known by the nickname “Bello,” was charged alongside five other government officials. Their convictions have drawn significant attention both within Equatorial Guinea and internationally, not only for financial misconduct but also due to an explosive sex scandal involving Ebang.
In November last year, videos surfaced online allegedly showing Ebang engaging in intimate acts with the wives of other senior government officials, some reportedly filmed in his office. The scandal prompted public ridicule and online mockery, with social media users creating memes, parody songs, and even a fictional virility drug named after him.
The case has further exposed the opaque inner workings of Equatorial Guinea’s ruling elite and fueled ongoing criticism of President Obiang’s administration, which has long been accused of suppressing dissent and tightly controlling media narratives.
Despite the country’s vast oil wealth, Equatorial Guinea continues to face widespread accusations of corruption. The Obiang family and close allies have been subjects of investigations in countries like France and the United States over allegations of money laundering and misappropriation of public funds.
The sentencing of Baltasar Ebang Engonga is being viewed by many as a rare instance of accountability within a system frequently criticized for its lack of transparency.
Source: GhPage.com
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