The sale should pay off. Twenty-five luxury cars Teodorin Obiang, son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, that the Geneva courts seized in a money laundering investigation, are auctioned Sunday, September 29 in Switzerland, and should pay big.

The overall estimate is at least 18.5 million Swiss francs (over 17 million euros).

"It's an exceptional sale, it's a private collection of supercars, with extremely limited mileage, sometimes delivery," Philip Kantor, director of the Automobiles Europe division of British home Bonhams, told AFP. auctions.

Seven Ferrari, three Lamborghini, five Bentley, one Maserati and one McLaren are among the vehicles offered for sale, which takes place in a golf club near Geneva.

The most expensive lots are two hypercars that were unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013: an off-white Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, valued between 4.8 and 5.7 million euros, and a yellow Ferrari (hybrid) , estimated between 2.4 and 2.6 million euros.

All these cars have in common to have belonged to Teodorin Obiang, Vice President of Equatorial Guinea. But in this small oil country, where one of the most serious corruption in the world according to Transparency International, a large part of the population still lives in poverty.

Classified procedure

These cars also have in common to have been confiscated by the Geneva courts after the opening in 2016 of criminal proceedings against Teodorin Obiang, and two other people, for "money laundering and unfair management of public interests ".

The proceedings were finally filed in February, the Geneva courts and the Equatorial Guinean authorities having agreed that the cars be sold and that the proceeds of the sale be allocated to a social program in Equatorial Guinea.

The country has also agreed to pay 1.3 million Swiss francs (1.4 million euros) to Geneva to cover the costs of proceedings.

This central African state has been headed for forty years by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, 77 years old.

According to observers of Equatorial Guinean political life, Teodorin Obiang, known for his extravagance and lavish lifestyle, is destined to succeed his father.

He was sentenced in Paris in 2017 to three years in prison suspended and 30 million euros fine for fraudulently building in France a considerable heritage (Parisian mansion, racing and luxury cars, branded suits by dozens, private jets ...) in the so-called "ill-gotten property" case, which he appealed against.

With AFP