The public television of Equatorial Guinea (TVGE) announced today the arrest of the son of the president, Ruslan Obiang Nsue, suspected of having sold a plane belonging to the national company.
The details of the case date back to the end of November when an investigation was opened by the authorities following the disappearance of the ATR 72-500 aircraft belonging to the national airline. Mr. Obiang Nsue is said to have “sold the ATR aircraft to the Las Palmas-based company Binter Technic”.
Ruslan Obiang Nsue has been Secretary of State for Sports and Youth and is now the General Manager of Ceiba Airport.
His half-brother, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, nicknamed “Teodorin”, said on Twitter that Ruslan Obiang Nsue had admitted to being the person who sold the plane, adding that he had ordered his arrest and handing over to justice and that he “would not be carried away by favoritism”.
Equatorial Guinea, the third richest country in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of GDP per capita, has been ruled for more than 43 years by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has just been re-elected for a sixth seven-year term.