Court convicts President’s son for selling ATR 72-500 plane
Story by Susan Mbamah
A court in Equatorial Guinea has found one of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s sons, Ruslan Obiang Nsue, guilty of illegally selling a plane belonging to the country’s national airline.
According to Supreme Court press director Hilario Mitogo, the ruling delivered on Tuesday orders Obiang Nsue to serve six years in prison unless he repays the state for the missing aircraft. Obiang Nsue, 50, who previously directed the national carrier Ceiba Intercontinental, was found guilty of selling the ATR 72-500 aircraft to a Spanish company and keeping the proceeds.
Obiang Nsue has been under house arrest since 2023 following an order by his half-brother and Vice-President, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.
Mitogo stated that the court ruled he could avoid jail if he paid around $255,000 to the airline, along with damages and a state fine. He was, however, acquitted of separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.
The son of the world’s longest-serving president, Obiang Nsue has also served as secretary of state for sports and youth. His father has ruled the oil-rich central African nation for 46 years.
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