Teodorin Obiang, the big-spending, hard-partying, car-crazy son of Equatorial Guinea’s longtime ruler, is due to face court on corruption charges.
The 47-year-old, vice-president of the oil-rich Central African country, will be tried by a Paris court on a number of charges including corruption, money-laundering and embezzlement of public funds, according to sources
French investigating magistrates have been probing the source of money spent in France by Obiang, Congo-Brazzaville's President Denis Sassou Nguesso, and Omar Bongo, the late president of Gabon. They have ordered the seizure of Obiang’s vast Paris mansion in the chic 16th district. It featured gold-plated taps, a private gym, a spa and an in-house nightclub, worth more than 100 million euros.
Obiang’s lawyers have repeatedly tried to derail the investigation, arguing that their client should be granted diplomatic immunity. Earlier this year, Equatorial Guinea filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague asking it to order an end to the French probe.
source://www.france24.com
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