President’s Son Jailed Over Secret Sale of National Airline Plane

On Tuesday, the judge ruled that Ruslan Obiang Nsue, 50, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, must serve six years in prison unless he reimburses the state for the missing aircraft, according to Supreme Court press director Hilario Mitogo, who disclosed the verdict via WhatsApp.

A court in Equatorial Guinea has convicted one of the president’s sons for unlawfully selling a plane owned by the national airline, a court official confirmed.

Obiang Nsue, a former director of national carrier Ceiba Intercontinental, was found guilty of illegally selling an ATR 72-500 plane to a Spanish company and pocketing the proceeds.

He was initially placed under house arrest in 2023 on the order of his half-brother, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the country’s vice-president and also a son of the president.

According to Mitogo, the court ruled that Obiang Nsue can avoid jail if he pays about \$255,000 to the airline, along with additional damages and a fine to the state.

The court, however, acquitted him of separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.

Obiang Nsue has previously served as Secretary of State for Sports and Youth in the oil-rich Central African country, which has been under the rule of his 83-year-old father for 46 years.

In a related case, a French court in July 2021 convicted his half-brother, Teodoro Obiang Mangue, of embezzling public funds, handing him a suspended jail sentence and a \$35 million fine.