A court in Equatorial Guinea has convicted a son of the country’s president for illegally selling off an aircraft belonging to the national airline, a court official said.
The judge ruled on Tuesday that Ruslan Obiang Nsue, one of the sons of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, must serve six years in jail unless he compensates the state for the missing aircraft, supreme court press director Hilario Mitogo told reporters in a WhatsApp message.
The court convicted Obiang Nsue, 50, a former director of national carrier Ceiba Intercontinental, of selling the ATR 72-500 plane to a Spanish company and pocketing the cash.
He was placed under house arrest in 2023 on the order of his half-brother, the country’s vice-president Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue — also a son of the president.
READ ALSO:Communities protest against establishment of hotels, alcohol joints in Nigerian state
Mitogo said the court ruled that Obiang Nsue could avoid jail if he paid around $255,000 to the airline, along with damages and a fine to the state.
The court acquitted him on separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.
Obiang Nsue has also served as secretary of state for sports and youth in the oil-rich central African state, ruled for the past 46 years by his father, 83.
In a separate case targeting his half-brother, a French court handed Obiang Mangue a suspended jail sentence and a $35-million fine in July 2021 after convicting him of embezzling public funds.
