“Ill-gotten gains”: the Obiang case before the International Court of Justice

Text by: RFI Follow

The case of the "ill-gotten gains" of son Obiang is continuing before the International Court of Justice, before which lawyers for Equatorial Guinea must plead this Monday, February 17.

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With our correspondent in The Hague, Stéphanie Maupas

The vice-president of Equatorial Guinea was found guilty of money laundering, misuse of corporate assets, embezzlement of public funds and breach of trust by the French justice system, and was sentenced to three years suspended prison sentence last week , 30 millions of euros in fines and the confiscation of numerous assets, including the building at 42 avenue Foch in Paris. His seizure is nevertheless suspended from a decision of the International Court of Justice.

Lawyers for Equatorial Guinea accuse Paris of violating the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and will have one week to plead the case in The Hague before the International Court of Justice.

In June 2016, its judges granted a first victory to Equatorial Guinea, ordering to suspend the seizure of the mansion and the property therein, canvas, luxury cars and valuable furniture, the time to rule on the merits.

From today, Equatorial Guinea will have to prove that the 4000 square meters of 42 avenue Foch in Paris, seized and searched by French justice eight years ago, were home to diplomatic activities.

This is what Malabo asserts since the first complaints for "ill-gotten gains" filed in France against the son of the Head of State, Theodorin Obiang. And that Paris challenges.

The seizure of this building, worth 150 million euros, ordered on appeal by French justice last week, is suspended until the final decision of the judges of the UN Court. It should be returned in the coming months.

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• Equatorial Guinea

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