Britain sanctions Equatorial Guinea leader’s son who splurged millions on luxury cars, Michael Jackson glove
- London said Teodoro Obiang Mangue, who is also vice-president of Equatorial Guinea, was targeted for misappropriating millions of dollars
- Four other individuals were also sanctioned under Britain’s anti-corruption regime
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Teodoro Obiang Mangue, who is also vice-president of Equatorial Guinea, had participated in “corrupt contracting arrangements and soliciting bribes, to fund a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with his official salary as a government minister”.
The Equatorial Guinea government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Britain said Obiang had bought a US$100 million mansion in Paris, a US$38 million private jet, a luxury yacht, and dozens of luxury vehicles including Ferraris, Bentleys and Aston Martins.
The foreign ministry said he also bought “a collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia” including a US$275,000 crystal-covered glove that Jackson wore on his “Bad” tour.
Mangue’s father, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has ruled Equatorial Guinea since taking power in a coup in 1979, eleven years after independence from Spain.
The country grew rich in the past few decades due to the exploitation of its oil reserves, but more than 76 per cent of the population live in poverty, according to the World Bank.
Sanctions were also placed on Colombian contractors Alex Nain Saab Moran and Alvaro Enrique Pulido Vargas for exploiting Venezuela’s public food and housing programmes and delivering goods at inflated prices.
Zimbabwe’s Kudakwashe Regimond Tagwirei was sanctioned under the anti-corruption regime for redeeming national treasury bills at 10 times their official value.
Iraq’s Nawfal Hammadi Al-Sultan was targeted for misappropriating public funds intended for reconstruction efforts and supporting civilians while serving as governor of the country’s northern Nineveh province.
The measures are the second grouping of sanctions under Britain’s anti-corruption regime.
They follow sanctions in April, which targeted 22 individuals involved in serious corruption cases in Russia, South Africa, South Sudan and Latin America.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
