Ill-gotten gains: the court of cassation rules on the Teodorin Obiang case

Teodorin Obiang, vice-president of Equatorial Guinea and son of the incumbent president, was sentenced in February 2020, on appeal to three years in prison and a 30 million euro fine for fraudulently building himself a considerable heritage in France.

The Court of Cassation will rule on this verdict on July 28, on the merits of the case: is this verdict an interference by the French judicial authority in Equatorial Guinean law?

Michele Spatari AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

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In France, the court of cassation ruled on Wednesday on the appeal of Teodorin Obiang, vice-president of Equatorial Guinea, convicted last year of having built up a fraudulent heritage of more than 150 million euros.

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Is it French law or Equatorial Guinean law that should apply to Teodorin Obiang?

This is in substance the question that must be decided this Wednesday afternoon by the Court of Cassation, seized by the lawyer of the vice-president. 

On February 10, 2020, Teodorin Obiang, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema and former minister promoted to vice-president of Equatorial Guinea, was sentenced to three years in prison and a 30 million euro fine for having fraudulently built himself a considerable heritage in France thanks to the embezzlement of money in his country.

The sums laundered in France are estimated at 150 million euros.

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To read also

: "Badly acquired goods": on appeal, the justice increases the sentence of Teodorin Obiang    

On the merits of the case, if in the eyes of French law Teodorin Obiang, 50, is indeed convicted of abuse of corporate assets in particular, this offense does not exist in Equatorial Guinea.

However, it is in this country that the money would have been diverted to acquire a luxurious inheritance in France. 

The court of cassation must therefore decide: is it, yes or no, an interference by the French judicial authority in Equatorial Guinean law? 

If the answer to the question was yes, the highest court might even decide not to refer the case;

in other words, consider that it is not for France to rule on these ill-gotten goods.

But if the court of cassation upholds the conviction, Equatorial Guinea could become the first country to benefit from the brand new mechanism for restitution of assets of ill-gotten goods which makes it possible to return the proceeds of confiscated goods to the populations.

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To read also

: Ill-gotten gains: a report calls for a mechanism of restitution to the populations

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  • Teodoro Obiang Nguema