A court in Equatorial Guinea has convicted Ruslan Obiang Nsue, one of the sons of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, for illegally selling a plane belonging to the country’s national airline.
Supreme Court press director Hilario Mitogo confirmed the judgment in a WhatsApp message to reporters on Tuesday, stating that Obiang Nsue was sentenced to six years in prison unless he repays the state for the missing aircraft.
“The court ruled that Ruslan Obiang Nsue must serve six years in jail unless he compensates the state for the missing aircraft,” Mitogo said.
The 50-year-old, a former director of Ceiba Intercontinental, the national carrier, was found guilty of selling an ATR 72-500 plane to a Spanish company and pocketing the proceeds.
He had been placed under house arrest in 2023 on the orders of his half-brother, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, also a son of the president.
According to Mitogo, the court ruled that Obiang Nsue could avoid prison if he repaid about $255,000 to Ceiba Intercontinental, in addition to damages and a fine to the state.
However, the court acquitted him of separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.
Beyond his role in the national airline, Obiang Nsue previously served as secretary of state for sports and youth in the oil-rich central African country, ruled by his father for the past 46 years.
In a separate high-profile corruption case, a French court in July 2021 handed his half-brother, Vice President Obiang Mangue, a suspended prison sentence and a $35 million fine after convicting him of embezzling public funds.
(AFP)
