Equatorial Guinea court jails President’s son over sale of National Aircraft

A court in Equatorial Guinea has convicted Ruslan Obiang Nsue, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, for illegally selling an aircraft belonging to the national carrier.

The court ruled Tuesday, August 26, that Obiang Nsue, 50, a former director of Ceiba Intercontinental, must serve six years in prison unless he reimburses the airline roughly $255,000, in addition to damages and a state fine, according to supreme court press director Hilario Mitogo.

Obiang Nsue was found guilty of selling a Ceiba-owned ATR 72-500 to a Spanish company and pocketing the proceeds. 

He was first placed under house arrest in 2023 on the order of his half-brother, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.

The court, however, acquitted him of separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.

Obiang Nsue previously served as secretary of state for sports and youth. His father, 83, has ruled the oil-rich central African nation for more than four decades.

In 2012, Obiang Mangue, the vice president, was handed a suspended prison sentence and a $35 million fine by a French court after being found guilty of embezzling public funds.