World News - equatorial-guinea

Jun

2012

11:39am, EDT

Corruption allegations as DoJ seeks to seize Malibu mansion of playboy Africa leader's son

Abdelhak Senna / AFP - Getty Images, file

A file picture showing Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of the Equatorial Guinea president, speaking in his home country.

By Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com

Detailed allegations of massive corruption and theft in Equatorial Guinea have been filed in a court by the U.S. Department of Justice as it seeks to recover assets - including a $30 million mansion in Malibu and Michael Jackson’s studded white tour glove– from the playboy son of the Africa country’s president.

The D.o.J. filing, made this week, accuses Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue of defrauding the U.S. banking system in order to channel ill-gotten funds from his homeland into property, luxury cars and even a private jet in the U.S.

The filing is viewable in this PDF document hosted on the website of anti-corruption charity, Global Witness.

It is the latest stage of an attempt by the U.S. government to seize assets worth $71 million – a move triggered by a 2004 Senate report that alleged U.S. banks failed to monitor suspicious transactions from regimes, including that of Equatorial Guinea.

It alleges Teodoro, who was appointed Forestry Minister by his father in the 1990s and who reportedly once dated the rapper Eve, forced the country’s timber companies to pay him personally approximately 10 percent of the value of all the wood harvested for export in exchange for their export licenses.

Mansions, jets, yachts: Warrant sought for African ruler's 'playboy' son

It also alleges he received tens of millions of dollars in payments from fraudulently inflated construction contracts in Equatorial Guinea.

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“This filing provides significantly more detail on allegations of corruption against Teodorin Obiang. It further validates concerns that Global Witness has raised over the years about Teodorin’s source of funds that sustain his luxury lifestyle,” said Robert Palmer, a campaigner with Global Witness.

Prosecutors hope the evidence will be enough to allow the U.S. to recover the assets acquired in California, including the Malibu home - a 15,000-sqaure-foot mansion with eight bathrooms set on 19 acres of grounds overlooking the Pacific. The property, at 3620 Sweetwater Mesa Road, includes a swimming pool, tennis court, four-hole golf course and Hollywood stars Mel Gibson, Britney Spears and Kelsey Grammer as neighbors according to a 2006 Forbes report that listed its purchase as among the highest-value real estate transactions of that year nationwide.

Studded glove
Smaller assets include more than $1 million of Michael Jackson memorabilia bought at auction following the singer’s death, such as the $275,000 studded white glove worn on the ‘Bad’ tour.

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The latest court filing also gives details on purchases being examined by foreign governments, such as a $15 million house in Sao Paolo, Brazil, a $1m diamond-studded Piaget watch and more than $7 million in renovations to the playboy’s home in Paris.

Teodoro’s father - President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo - has ruled the former Spanish colony since a 1979 coup, making him one of the longest-serving African leaders following the demise of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi.

Although his country is only the size of Maryland and has a population of less than 700,000, it is strategically significant to the U.S. as it produces about 240,000 barrels of oil per day. The New York Times has reported that decades of repression and “systematic” torture have created a culture of fear in Equatorial Guinea. It said American oil companies have billions of dollars invested there.

Father and son posed with President Obama in a picture taken by the State Department in 2009, while President Teodoro was welcomed to Washington D.C. by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2006.

'Character assassination'
In January, Teodoro asked a U.S. court to dismiss attempts by the Obama administration to seize the assets, denying charges that they were obtained with allegedly corrupt funds taken from his country.

He argued he had not violated U.S. or Equatorial Guinea law and called the corruption allegations "character assassination" against him and his country.

Details of his incredible lifestyle have been reported extensively by Foreign Policy.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Equatorial Guinea embassy in Washington D.C. on Thursday.

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Mar

2012

7:56am, EDT

Mansions, jets, yachts: Warrant sought for African ruler's 'playboy' son

By Reuters

PARIS -- Two French judges sought an international arrest warrant for the son of Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema on money laundering charges, a judicial source said on Tuesday.

The two judges, Roger Le Loire and Rene Grouman, consider there are grounds to suspect that Teodorin Obiang, who is agriculture minister in the small, oil-rich central African country, acquired real estate in France by fraudulent means.

The warrant will not be released until a prosecutor has reviewed the request and decides whether to proceed.

Extravagant lifestyle
Teodorin is frequently seen enjoying an extravagant lifestyle abroad with multi-million dollar mansions, jets and yachts. Billboards in the capital Malabo seek to show him at work and in touch with the people, but diplomats and analysts cite his playboy lifestyle as a cause for concern.

The French judges, who have been handling the case since 2010 on the basis of "concealment of embezzled public funds," suspect that the properties were purchased with public money from Equatorial Guinea.

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The judges had previously sought permission from the government of Equatorial Guinea to question Teodorin, but that request was rejected, Olivier Pardo, lawyer for the oil-producing nation, told Reuters in Paris.

"Unless one wishes to violate the sovereignty of the State of Equatorial Guinea and harm relations between France and Equatorial Guinea, it is absurd to want to launch an arrest warrant," he said.

Paris raid
As part of the investigation, French police raided a building belonging to Equatorial Guinea in a wealthy area of Paris in February. After three days they removed art works and fine wines worth several million euros.

The building was valued at about 150 million euros ($200 million) and investigators say it housed a nightclub and hairdressers, which suggested it was not being used as a diplomatic residence.

Anti-corruption organization Transparency International had filed the original legal complaint against Teodorin Obiang.

On March 1, Teodorin filed for defamation against Daniel Lebegue, the president of the French arm of Transparency, denying he had embezzled funds.

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President Teodoro Obiang has ruled the former Spanish colony for more than three decades, making him the longest-serving African leader following the demise of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, with rights groups labelling his regime one of the world's most corrupt.

The country produces about 240,000 barrels of oil per day.

'Character assassination'
In January, Teodorin asked a U.S. court to dismiss attempts by the Obama administration to seize some $71 million worth of his assets, denying charges that they were obtained with allegedly corrupt funds taken from his country.

He argued he had not violated U.S. or Equatorial Guinea law and called the corruption allegations "character assassination" against him and his country.

Equatorial Guinea in October said it wanted to appoint Teodorin as its deputy permanent delegate at U.N. cultural agency UNESCO in Paris, a position that would give him diplomatic status in France. Until now the agency has not received any official documentation to proceed further with that request.

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