Prison sentence demanded for son of President of Equatorial Guinea

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Equatorial Guinea's prosecutor on Monday called for an 18-year prison sentence for the son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo for selling one of the national airline's planes.

They also demanded that Ruslan Obiang Nsue pay a fine of 500 million CFA francs (850,000 US dollars).

Authorities launched an investigation in November 2022 after a Ceiba Intercontinental ATR 72-500 aircraft, which had been in Spain since 2018, disappeared.

The younger Obiang, a former deputy managing director of the airline, admitted in court that he had signed a contract with a Spanish company to sell the plane, but said he had only received 125,000 euros ($138,000) of the 250,000 euros promised.

The 49-year-old, who is also a former Secretary of State in the Ministry of Sport, was arrested in January 2023 and placed under house arrest. He is accused of abuse of office, embezzlement of public assets and misappropriation of public funds.

The trial was adjourned and no date for sentencing was set.

The small West African state has been ruled by 82-year-old President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo for more than 45 years.

His eldest son, Vice President Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue, was sentenced to a three-year suspended prison sentence and a 30 million euro fine by a French court in 2021 for embezzling several million euros in public funds.

sam-sof/tw/rlp