Equatorial Guinea President’s Son Faces Trial for Illegally Selling National Airline’s Aircraft

Prosecutors are pushing for an 18-year prison sentence and a fine of 500 million CFA Francs ($847,000), according to AFP.

Ruslan Obiang Nsue, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s President, appeared in a Malabo court on Monday, where he admitted to illegally selling an airplane owned by the national airline, Ceiba Intercontinental.

Prosecutors are pushing for an 18-year prison sentence and a fine of 500 million CFA Francs ($847,000), according to AFP.

Nsue, 49, is facing charges of “abuse of power, abuse of office, misuse of public assets, and embezzlement of public funds.” The trial has been suspended, and no date has been set for a verdict.

The case dates back to November 2022, when Equatorial Guinean authorities launched an investigation into the disappearance of an ATR 72-500 aircraft, which had been undergoing maintenance in Spain since 2018. The investigation revealed that Nsue sold the plane to the Spanish aircraft maintenance company, Binter Technic Company.

Nsue admitted in court that he signed a contract to sell the plane for 250,000 euros ($277,900), but claimed he only received half of that amount, which he deposited into his bank account in Spain.

Before his dismissal, Nsue held the position of deputy general manager at Ceiba Intercontinental and also served as the Secretary of State for Sports and Youth. He was arrested in 2023 and placed under house arrest by order of his half-brother, Vice President Nguema Obiang Mangue. In related news, Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Equatorial Guinea President have sealed their deal for the gas pipeline project.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 82, has ruled Equatorial Guinea for 45 years, following a coup against his uncle in 1979, making him the world’s longest-serving non-monarchical leader. In July 2021, the president’s eldest son, Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue, was handed a three-year suspended prison sentence and a 30 million euro fine by a French court for embezzling public funds. The sale of his assets in France generated 6 million euros.