…earlier placed under house arrest on the order of half-brother
*Court convicts Obiang Nsue, 50, a former director of national carrier Ceiba Intercontinental of selling the ATR 72-500 plane to a Spanish company, pocketing cash
*Convicted felon earlier served as secretary of state for sports and youth in the oil-rich central African state
*“I blame the Devil for it. I sold the national plane to urgently cater for my needs, since my father is the President”-Suspect said in court
*“It is hereby ordered that you, Ruslan Obiang Nsue, one of the sons of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, must serve six years in jail unless you compensate the state for the missing aircraft”– Supreme court press director, Hilario Mitogo
*BY DEBIE AMANDA JONAH/CRIME Correspondent, Abidjan, NAIJA STANDARD NEWSPAPER Inc USA
Ruslan Obiang Nsue, one of the children of the Equatorial Guinea’s President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has found himself in troubled waters, after he allegedly sold off the nation’s national airline and pocket the cash, blaming the devil as the root cause. He was found guilty by the Supreme court of having violated the laws of the land.
A court in Equatorial Guinea convicted a son of the country’s president for illegally selling off a plane belonging to the national airline, a court official said.
The judge ruled recently that Nsue 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.
In his reaction, Nsue absolved himself of any crime, rather blames the Devil, by saying: “I blame the Devil for it. I sold the national plane to urgently cater for my needs, since my father is the President”.
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.
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.
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