{"id":432528,"date":"2017-10-31T09:40:05","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T09:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/"},"modified":"2017-10-31T09:40:05","modified_gmt":"2017-10-31T09:40:05","slug":"equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">A French court has handed down a three-year suspended jail term to Equatorial Guinea\u2019s Vice President Teodorin Obiang for corruption.<\/p>\n<p>The 48-year-old, known for his lavish tastes, is the son of the oil-rich West African country\u2019s president.<\/p>\n<p>He was absent from the trial, where he was found guilty of embezzlement.<\/p>\n<p>His assets in France will be seized, including a mansion on Avenue Foch in Paris. He also got a suspended fine of 30m euros (\u00a327m; $35m).<\/p>\n<p>In November, Swiss prosecutors seized 11 luxury cars belonging to Mr Obiang. They said he had plundered his country\u2019s oil wealth to buy luxuries, including a private jet and Michael Jackson memorabilia.<\/p>\n<p>Equatorial Guinea\u2019s President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, is Africa\u2019s longest-serving leader and human rights groups accuse him of systematic repression of opponents.<\/p>\n<p>The Paris judge found that the president\u2019s son had used his position as agriculture and forestry minister to siphon off payments from timber firms who were exporting from Equatorial Guinea.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Obiang\u2019s forestry company Somagui Forestal was \u201can empty shell used solely to channel public money\u201d, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n<p>The case against him was triggered by anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International and a similar NGO, called Sherpa.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Obiang denied the charges, saying his wealth had come from legitimate sources. His lawyers accused France of \u201cmeddling in the affairs of a sovereign state\u201d, AFP news agency reported.<\/p>\n<p>In 2000-2011 Mr Obiang acquired a collection of luxury assets and properties in France, including the \u20ac25m Avenue Foch mansion. He also boasted 18 luxury cars in France, artworks, jewellery and expensive designer fashions, the court found.<\/p>\n<p>It is the first of three French investigations into the alleged \u201cill-gotten gains\u201d of long-standing African leaders and their families.<\/p>\n<p>The French daily Le Monde reports that the family of Gabon President Ali Bongo has 39 French luxury properties, while 24 are owned by the family of Congo-Brazzaville\u2019s President Denis Sassou-Nguesso. They also have about 200 bank accounts, French police say.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Source: BBC<\/p>\n<div class=\"bsac bsac-clearfix bsac-post-bottom bsac-float-center bsac-align-center bsac-column-1\">\n<div id=\"bsac-268363-1686087487\" class=\"bsac-container bsac-type-image \" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/WPAdBlock\" data-adid=\"268363\" data-type=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bsac-image\" src=\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/newmont_beyondmind92870.gif\" alt=\"Homepage Header Ad\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a style=\"display:none\" rel=\"follow\" href=\"http:\/\/megatheme.ir\/\" title=\"\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633\">\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A French court has handed down a three-year suspended jail term to Equatorial Guinea\u2019s Vice President Teodorin Obiang for corruption. The 48-year-old, known for his lavish tastes, is the son of the oil-rich West African country\u2019s president. He was absent from the trial, where he was found guilty of embezzlement. His assets in France will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":432529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-432528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"A French court has handed down a three-year suspended jail term to Equatorial Guinea\u2019s Vice President Teodorin Obiang for corruption. The 48-year-old, known for his lavish tastes, is the son of the oil-rich West African country\u2019s president. He was absent from the trial, where he was found guilty of embezzlement. His assets in France will [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-31T09:40:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":336,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/\",\"name\":\"Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-31T09:40:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/31\\\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2017\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"A French court has handed down a three-year suspended jail term to Equatorial Guinea\u2019s Vice President Teodorin Obiang for corruption. The 48-year-old, known for his lavish tastes, is the son of the oil-rich West African country\u2019s president. He was absent from the trial, where he was found guilty of embezzlement. His assets in France will [&hellip;]","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France","datePublished":"2017-10-31T09:40:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/"},"wordCount":336,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["World"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/","name":"Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang sentenced in France - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2017-10-31T09:40:05+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/10\/31\/equatorial-guinea-vp-teodorin-obiang-sentenced-in-france\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}