President’s Son Sentenced to Prison for Selling National Plane

A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Ruslan Obiang Nsue, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, for illegally selling a plane owned by the country’s national airline.

The Supreme Court confirmed on Tuesday that Obiang Nsue, 50, a former director of Ceiba Intercontinental, sold an ATR 72-500 aircraft to a Spanish company and kept the proceeds. According to Hilario Mitogo, press director for the Supreme Court, Obiang Nsue faces six years in prison but can avoid jail by reimbursing the state for the aircraft, along with additional fines and damages totaling around $255,000.

Obiang Nsue has been under house arrest since 2023, following orders from his half-brother, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue. He was acquitted of separate embezzlement and abuse-of-office charges.

The president’s son has also previously served as secretary of state for sports and youth in the oil-rich nation, which has been led by President Obiang for 46 years.

In a related development, Obiang Nsue’s half-brother, Vice President Obiang Mangue, received a suspended jail term and a $35-million fine from a French court in July 2021 over embezzlement of public funds.