Three years suspended prison sentence, 30 million euros fine and confiscations: French justice aggravated on Monday February 10 on appeal the conviction of the vice-president and son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodorin Obiang, found guilty of s be fraudulently built up a considerable heritage in France.
The Paris Court of Appeal went beyond the conviction pronounced at first instance. On October 27, 2017, after the first so-called "ill-gotten trial" before French justice, the criminal court had imposed the same prison sentence, but had suspended the fine of 30 million euros . The amounts laundered in France are estimated at 150 million euros.
The magistrates also confirmed the confiscation of all the seized property, including a sumptuous mansion avenue Foch in Paris, which however remains suspended from a decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A former minister promoted to vice president, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema's son did not appear at his appeal trial, nor did he appear at the first trial three years ago.
His lawyers have repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of French justice.
Teodorin Obiang, 50, was convicted of laundering the misuse of corporate property, laundering embezzlement of public funds, laundering breach of trust. Unlike the first trial, however, he was acquitted of the offense of money laundering and corruption.
The motivations of the court were not immediately available.
A lifestyle far removed from everyday life in Equatorial Guinea
The public prosecutor's office had requested four years of imprisonment with an arrest warrant, a 30 million euro fine and the confiscation of the seized property.
The investigation, opened after complaints from the Sherpa and Transparency International associations, had revealed the extent of the heritage that Teodorin Obiang has in France: works of art, luxury cars, or this 101-room mansion with hammam and nightclub, decorated with marble and fitted with taps covered with gold ... A lifestyle far removed from the daily life of its small oil country in the Gulf of Guinea where more than half of the inhabitants live below the poverty line.
Directed since 1979 by Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who holds the record for longevity in power in Africa, Equatorial Guinea challenges before the ICJ the searches in the mansion on Avenue Foch, presented by Malabo as diplomatic premises.
Pending the outcome of this procedure, the mansion cannot be seized. A series of hearings between Malabo and Paris is scheduled for The Hague next week, from February 17 to 21.
France and Equatorial Guinea maintain strained relations because of this affair. Present at the deliberations, Equatorial Guinea's ambassador to France, Miguel Oyono Ndong Mifumu, refused to "comment on a judicial decision".
With AFP
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