Equatorial Guinea Court Jails President’s Son For Six Years Over Illegal Sale of National Aircraft

A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Ruslan Obiang Nsue, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, to six years in prison for illegally selling an aircraft belonging to the national airline.

According to Supreme Court press director Hilario Mitogo, the ruling on Tuesday stated that Obiang Nsue could avoid jail if he reimburses Ceiba Intercontinental about $255,000 for the missing ATR 72-500 plane, in addition to damages and a state fine.

The 50-year-old, a former director of Ceiba Intercontinental, was accused of selling the aircraft to a Spanish company and keeping the proceeds. He was first placed under house arrest in 2023 by 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, who has also served as secretary of state for sports and youth, is one of several children of President Obiang, who has ruled the oil-rich Central African nation for 46 years.

In a related case abroad, his half-brother, Vice-President Obiang Mangue, was handed a suspended prison sentence and fined $35 million by a French court in 2021 for embezzling public funds.