While officials in Equatorial Guinea strive to reinvent its image as a commercial and tourist hub, the US Justice Department on Tuesday announced it would pursue civil forfeiture actions against the president of the wealthy kleptocratic African nation’s playboy heir.
The US Justice Department filed civil forfeiture actions on Tuesday against Teodoro Nguema Obiang, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s infamous president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, whose rule has brought criticism for its ruthless human rights abuses and corruption.
Separate complaints in the Central District of California and the District of Columbia target more than $70.8 million in Obiang’s assets. The case was initiated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations. The complaints detail not just Obiang’s lavish assets, but the alleged looting of his country’s wealth by his family – a country that is the riches per-capita on the continent despite also being one of the smallest. Obiang’s rule has nonetheless resulted in a citizenry subsisting on less than $1 per day.
On a modest public minister’s salary, the younger Obiang somehow amassed more than $100 million of personal wealth. With a Beverly Hills mansion and jets around the country, Obiang allegedly used American fiduciary vehicles to launder and transfer money.
The case against Obaing, while relatively straight-forward, is noteworthy because it is the first such action brought by the one year old Kleptocracy Initiative, announced by administration officials during the summer of 2010. To this point, the initiative had been mostly silent. But now, in what seems to be a task force-approach geared at taking back assets, the group has been credited with bringing the case against Obiang.
Asset Recovery* Watch will continue to follow this story as it relates to the attempted rehabilitation of the corrupt country’s reputation and the Kleptocracy Initiative further activities.
