Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue (born 25 June 1968,[2] nicknamed Teodorín and Teddy) is an Equatoguinean politician who has served as the first vice president of Equatorial Guinea since 22 June 2016. He is a son of Teodoro Obiang, president of Equatorial Guinea, by his wife, Constancia Mangue.
Teodoro Nguema | |
|---|---|
| First Vice President of Equatorial Guinea | |
| Assumed office 22 June 2016 | |
| President | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo |
| Preceded by | Ignacio Milam Tang |
| Second Vice President of Equatorial Guinea | |
| In office 21 May 2012 – 22 June 2016 | |
| President | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue 25 June 1968 Akoakam-Esangui, Spanish Guinea (now Equatorial Guinea)[1] |
| Political party | PDGE |
| Parent(s) | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Constancia Mangue |
He has been appointed to numerous government positions by his father's regime, including Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and Second Vice-President, in charge of defense and security, in May 2012. He was promoted to the position of First Vice-President in June 2016. Known for his lavish lifestyle, he has been the subject of a number of international criminal charges and sanctions for alleged embezzlement and corruption. His net worth is $600 million including his yacht, private jets, and luxury cars.[3][4]
Education
editNguema studied at the École des Roches in Normandy, a French private school.[5] He registered to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, United States, for a four-term non-degree program in English as a second language.[6] He lived lavishly at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel[7] and rarely attended class;[6] he dropped out after only five months,[6][7] reportedly at the behest of university administrators.[6]
Political career and possible succession
editNguema served as Adviser to the Presidency in the 1990s and subsequently as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, a post he held for about fifteen years.[8]
It was reported in 2005 that Nguema was to be made vice president of Equatorial Guinea, which, according to the constitution, would allow him to accede to the presidency upon his father's retirement.[9] He was eventually elevated to the post of Second Vice-President, in charge of defense and security, on 21 May 2012, alongside former Prime Minister Ignacio Milam Tang, who was designated as First Vice-President. After four years as Second Vice-President, he was promoted to the post of First Vice-President, while remaining in charge of defense and security, on 22 June 2016; this move, which followed his father's re-election in the April 2016 presidential election, placed him clearly in line to succeed his father.[8]
Spending and controversies
edit
As Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Nguema was paid €3,200 a month.[10]
The New York Times reported in 2004 that Nguema was "a rap music entrepreneur and bon vivant, fond of Lamborghinis and long trips to Hollywood and Rio de Janeiro".[11] Superyacht Tatoosh was hired for £400,000 by him for a Christmas cruise on which he entertained rap singer Eve.[12]
Nguema drew criticism from the international media for spending close to R10,000,000 over a weekend in South Africa on champagne, property renovations, a black 2004 Bentley Arnage, a cream 2003 Bentley Continental R from MG Rover Cape Town and a 2005 Lamborghini Murcielago,[13] although some assets may soon be forcibly auctioned due to his failure to pay a South African businessman.[14] American law enforcement officials believe that most or perhaps all of his wealth comes from corruption connected to oil and gas reserves in Equatorial Guinea.[15]
Nguema's foreign interests include two houses in South Africa, worth a combined R50,000,000, a $31,000,000 compound in Malibu, California, US, a 5,000 square feet (460 m2) home on Avenue Foch[10] in the affluent 16th arrondissement of Paris, and the hip hop music record label TNO Entertainment. In 2008 he owned one of the 30 models of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 sports car (estimated at €1,100,000) and a Maserati MC 12 at €700,000.[16] He went on to purchase another Bugatti Veyron, and tried to purchase a third. In late 2011, both Veyrons, as well as nine other cars he owned, were seized by French police investigating corruption.[10] In July 2013, the confiscated goods were sold at auction.[17]
On 19 January 2013, Nguema's father, Teodoro Obiang, arrested Roberto Berardi, an Italian building contractor, active for 20 years in Africa. After working in Cameroon, Berardi had formed a construction company with him, but discovered some strange operations on the current account and asked for an explanation. A few hours later, the Italian contractor was arrested on charges of fraud and embezzlement. Berardi was fined 1.2 million euros[citation needed] and jailed. No charges were brought from Italy against Obiang. Berardi was released on 9 July 2015 after more than two years of detention.[18]
On 18 October 2016, Swiss prosecutors opened an investigation on Nguema after he landed eight times in Geneva.[19] French authorities had asked them for judicial assistance.[20] He eventually reached an accommodation with the Swiss, letting them sell his seized luxury cars, valued at 18.5 million Swiss francs, and the payment of 1.3 million Swiss francs.[21] On 27 September 2019, in an auction organised by British auctioneers Bonhams, 25 luxury cars were sold for 23.4m Swiss francs.[22]
On 14 September 2018, Nguema flew on an official plane to Brazil with other 9 passengers and had some of their 19 bags searched by the Brazilian border police in Viracopos-Campinas International Airport. They found approximately US$1.4 million in cash and 20 watches with estimated value of US$15 million.[23]
Embezzlement charges
editIn October 2011, seven years after the United States Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations exposed the Nguema's family secret accounts at Riggs Bank in Washington and five years after non-profit Global Witness discovered his mansion purchase in Malibu; the US Justice Department went to court to seize $70 million (£44m) of his US assets, which include a Gulfstream jet, yachts, cars and Michael Jackson memorabilia.[24]
On 11 June 2012, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) filed an amended complaint against Nguema, after a judge requested more evidence of the alleged corruption. The revised complaint states that he spent $315 million on properties and luxury goods between 2004 and 2011. According to the foreign complaint, he, while Minister of Forestry, levied personal "taxes" against local and foreign timber companies for licenses to operate and export timber, such as a $28.80 tax for every log exported, to fund his lavish lifestyle. The foreign prosecutors state that his expenditures "were inconsistent with both his known salary of less than $100,000 per year, and the income he purportedly generated from his companies."[25] In October 2014, he reached a settlement with the United States Department of Justice to pay the U.S. DoJ some of the funds held at accounts on his behalf, as well as his Malibu home, a Ferrari, and portions of his Michael Jackson collection, for a total estimated value of US$34 million. Upon the resolution of the settlement, he was able to keep his Gulfstream Jet, as well as some of the Michael Jackson memorabilia, including the $275,000 crystal Michael Jackson glove which he wore during his 1987–89 "Bad" tour,[26][27] and other assets.[28] $20 million of the proceeds was pledged, on DOJ's website, to go to a charitable institution for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea. Another $10.3 million was pledged to be used for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea "to the extent permitted by law." Since both of these pledges, there have been no records of the funds sent to any of the citizens, nor any of the infrastructure of Equatorial Guinea.[29][30]
In February 2012, a Parisian mansion belonging to Nguema, worth around €100 million, was raided by French police and they discovered luxury goods inside worth millions of euros. In July 2012, an arrest warrant was issued for him.[31] The mansion was seized by French authorities in August 2012. He was indicted by the French justice on several counts of corruption and money-laundering with an 'in absentia' trial beginning in 2017.[32] In response, Equatorial Guinea filed a case against France in the International Court of Justice accusing France of breaching the diplomatic immunity of its representatives and premises.[31] In the preliminary phase the court found that France must guarantee the protection of the premises presented as housing the diplomatic mission of Equatorial Guinea in France.[33] In December 2020 it ruled that the mansion was never a diplomatic premises.[34]
In September 2016, the District Attorneys Roger Le Loire and Charlotte Bilger referred Nguema to the Criminal Court of Paris, and issued an arrest warrant through Interpol. This procedure was validated by the International Court of Justice in December 2016.[citation needed]
The French trial concluded in October 2017 with Nguema receiving a suspended sentence of three years plus a suspended fine of €30 million. His properties in France, as well as 17 luxury cars, were also seized, including the Parisian mansion.[35][36]
UK sanctions
editOn 22 July 2021, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Nguema over "lavish lifestyle" spending, which he spent on mansions, private jets, among other things.[37] In retaliation, the Foreign Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Simeón Oyono Esono Angue, announced the closure of the country's embassy in London, as the British government sanctioned Nguema. The Minister said that it was the first measure and that Equatorial Guinea "will not allow interference in internal affairs".[26][27]
References
edit- ^ "Passport photo". Archived from the original on 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Biography". 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014.
- ^ Sá, Ana Lúcia; Rodrigues Sanches, Edalina (2021). "The politics of autocratic survival in Equatorial Guinea: Co-optation, restrictive institutional rules, repression, and international projection". African Affairs. 120 (478): 78–102. doi:10.1093/afraf/adaa030. hdl:10071/22003. ISSN 0001-9909.
- ^ Jackson, Patrick (28 July 2021). "Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue and his love of Bugattis and Michael Jackson". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023.
- ^ Anne Vidalie & Vincent Hugeux (5 April 2012). "Guinée équatoriale: la vie de nabab d'Obiang Junior". L'Express. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d Giaimo, Melissa (1 March 2007), "Pep ties bring dictator's son back to Malibu", Pepperdine Graphic, archived from the original on 8 October 2019
- ^ a b "$100m spree by playboy 'heir' to poverty-stricken dictatorship". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Guinée équatoriale : le président Obiang promeut son fils Teodorìn premier vice-président", Jeune Afrique, 23 June 2016 (in French) (Archive).
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea asks Angolan military aid to plan succession". afrol News. 11 November 2005. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022.
- ^ a b c Angelique Chrisafis (6 February 2012). "France impounds African autocrats' 'ill-gotten gains'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ Wines, Michael (20 March 2004). "Where Coup Plots Are Routine, One That Is Not". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022.
- ^ Johnson, RW (3 September 2006). "Playboy waits for his African throne". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
- ^ Johnson, RW; Town, Cape (3 September 2006). "Playboy waits for his African throne". London: The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2007.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea playboy's Cape homes seized". IOL. 16 February 2006. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.
- ^ Ian Urbina, "Taint of Corruption Is No Barrier to U.S. Visa for Millionaire", The New York Times, 17 November 2009. (Archive)
- ^ David Servenay, Transparency porte plainte pour saisir la Ferrari d'Omar Bongo, Rue 89, 15 July 2008 (in French) (Archive)
- ^ "Luxury cars seized from Equatorial Guinea leader's son raise £2.8 million". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Berardi freed from E. Guinea prison (3) - TopNews - Ansa.it". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 14 July 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "GVA Dictator Alert (@GVA_Watcher) | Twitter". twitter.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "La justice suisse enquête sur un potentat africain". 24 heures/. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "Swiss to auction 25 supercars seized from son of Equatorial Guinea dictator". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 28 September 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022.
- ^ "25 Luxuswagen des Präsidentensohns von Äquatorialguinea in der Schweiz versteigert". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 30 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019.
- ^ Globo (14 September 2018). "Malas com dólares e relógios de luxo são apreendidas com filho de ditador africano em aeroporto de SP". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Globo.com. EPTV & G1 Campinas e região. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- ^ James V. Grimaldi (26 October 2011). "Efforts against Equatorial Guinea official shows challenge for U.S. in foreign corruption cases". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012.
- ^ Bate Felix (15 June 2012). "U.S. prosecutors add charges in Equatorial Guinea graft case". Reuters. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Equatorial Guinea to close London embassy over sanctions on president's son". DW. 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Equatorial Guinea to close embassy in London". Reuters. 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023.
- ^ Scott Cohn (10 October 2014). "African nation leader forced to give up assets in DOJ settlement". CNBC. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Second Vice President of Equatorial Guinea Agrees to Relinquish More Than $30 Million of Assets Purchased with Corruption Proceeds". www.justice.gov. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ Jason Burke (2 January 2017). "French trial reveals vast wealth of Equatorial Guinean president's son". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022.
- ^ a b The Republic of Equatorial Guinea institutes proceedings against France with regard to "the immunity from criminal jurisdiction of [its] Second Vice-President in charge of Defence and State Security, and the legal status of the building which houses [its] Embassy in France", "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), retrieved 11 December 2016 - ^ Kyle, Laura. (3 January 2017). "Inside Story: Can France hold corrupt African leaders to account?". Al Jazeera website Archived 25 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 25, 2017. (Archive)
- ^ "The Court finds that France must guarantee the protection of the premises presented as housing the diplomatic mission of Equatorial Guinea in France, Order from 7 December 2016, retrieved on 11 December 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2016.
- ^ "World court rules that Paris mansion was not diplomatic post". AP News. 11 December 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "Son of Equatorial Guinea's president is convicted of corruption in France". The Guardian. 27 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France". BBC. 27 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022.
- ^ "UK sanctions Equatorial Guinea leader's son over "lavish lifestyle" spending Access to the comments". Euronews. 22 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022.
