By Abdul Tejan-Cole
On September 29 at Bonmont Abbey Golf & Country Club just outside Geneva, Switzerland, one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques, Bonhams Auction House, offered for sale 26 enviable supercars belonging to Teodoro “Teodorín” Nguema Obiang Mangue, Vice President of Equatorial Guinea and the 51 year old son of the country’s long-serving President. The 26 fast cars included seven Ferraris, five Bentleys, three Lamborghinis, a Maserati, a McLaren, a Koenigsegg and a Bugatti Veyron.
At the end of the auction, the 2014 Lamborghini Veneno based on the Aventador was sold for a whopping world record price of $8.27 million. The car, off-white with a beige interior, had the initials TNO (Teodoro Nguema Obiang) painted on the hood and gull-wing doors. Only nine cars were built. This was the seventh. It had only been driven 202 miles. The dark-blue 2015 Koenigsegg has1360 horsepower and weighing 1360 kg bagged $4.6 million. Only six of this car was made, and this one had only been driven for 371 miles. 2003 Ferrari Enzo which had only been driven for 12 miles, was sold for $3.2 million. At the end of the auction, the total sum of US$$26,908,636 was generated. This was well over the US$ 18,700,00 the Swiss Officials had predicted but far less than the illicitly obtained funds “Teodorín” paid for them.
The sale of the vintage vehicles was made possible by decades long campaign by several civil society groups aimed at exposing the massive corruption in Equatorial Guinea. Their case was taken up by the Prosecutor in Geneva in October 2016 following a referral by France. The Prosecutor conducted an investigation on allegations of money laundering and mismanagement of public assets. The Government of Equatorial Guinea tried several ploys to derail the investigations. They filed a case before the International Court of Justice against France demanding that France recognize the diplomatic immunity of the Vice President. When that case seemed to be moving too slowly, they also argued that the cars and a yacht, Ebony Shine, which was seized in the Netherlands, should be released as they were state properties that had been sent to Europe for repairs. The argument prevailed in the case of the yacht which was said to be the property of the Equatorial Guinean Navy, but it failed in respect of the cars. The Government eventually reached a settlement with the Swiss for the sale of the vehicle and to pay the sum of US$1.3 million as procedural costs. It was agreed that the proceeds of the sale would be used to fund social programs in Equatorial Guinea.
As the third-largest producer of oil in Sub-Saharan Africa, after Nigeria and Angola, Equatorial Guinea is one of the wealthiest countries on the continent. It is the fourth largest hydrocarbon producer in sub-Saharan Africa and also boasts of forestry, fishing, and undeveloped resources including titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. In 2015, it had one of Africa’s highest gross national income (GNI) per capita - an estimated $21,056. By 2018, this had reduced to $7,050. In the same year, Sierra Leone had a GNI of $500. In 2018, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Equatorial Guinea was worth 13.32 billion US dollars.
However, the high GNI has not translated into significant improvements in the lives of the country’s 1.3 million people. According to EG Justice, an NGO based out of the country that works to promote human rights, the rule of law, transparency, and civic participation to build a just Equatorial Guinea, “(T)he education sector remains stagnant despite the increased income in the country. Grade retention and dropout rates remain high. Teachers lack adequate training and most schools lack suitable facilities, electricity, sanitation, or potable water. The health sector has also seen little progress. Life expectancy remains low. Maternal and child mortality rates continue to be very high compared to less-developed nations in the region. Nearly half of the population lives without drinking water.”
According to the World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2019, Equatorial Guinea was ranked 177 out of 190 countries in the overall ratings and 184 in the starting a business sector. Although about 67% of the population has access to electricity, this is not regular. Prolonged blackouts are a common occurrence mostly due to poor management and ageing equipment. Only about 50% of the population have access to safe and cleaning drinking water and proper sanitation. 56% of children aged 0–4 years do not have access to adequate food. Average life expectancy in 2016 was 57 years. According to UNICEF, HIV prevalence remains a major challenge at 6.2%, the highest in West and Central Africa (WCA); women’s HIV rate is 8.3%, more than double that of men. In 2017, vaccination coverage and measles coverage was 47% and 50% respectively. Only 8% of preschool and 51% of primary school teachers have formal training.
According to EG Justice in 2016-17 human rights report notes that “Despite a national constitution that purports to protect basic rights, numerous signed and ratified treaties, and commitments made at international forums to protect and uphold human rights, the government continued to systematically violate human rights with utter disregard for the rule of law, and with absolute impunity. The judiciary lacks sufficient independence to uphold the rule of law and protect human rights…There were widespread accounts of abuse and violence by security forces against civilians. Opposition leaders and dissidents were harassed, arbitrarily and illegally arrested, and tortured. Students and civil society leaders were harassed, and spaces for free expression were shut down without legal reasoning. There is a concerted government strategy to silence independent voices, regardless of the arena in which they operate. No investigations were launched into the violations committed by security personnel during the electoral campaigns. Known human rights violators continue to freely operate with impunity, while victims are still without any remedy. Equatorial Guinea is one of the most censored countries in the world. The space for free expression of any kind is extremely limited and there is no independent media in the country. The main broadcasters in the country in both television and radio are controlled by the government, and the only private TV station is owned by the President’s son, Teodorín. The very few existing media outlets serve as propaganda for the ruling party. Security forces often harass journalists, and arbitrarily detain anyone suspected of engaging in any form of free expression.”
In contrast to the lives lived by the ordinary citizens, the cronies and family members of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo who are mostly from the Esangui clan of the Fang tribe, located in the Mongomo region of Río Muni in mainland EG. This small oligarchy diverts almost all of the country’s wealth for their benefit. The wealth that should have been used for the benefit of people has instead been substantially expropriated by a small group of people who live lavish lifestyles. Teodorín’s case was brought to global attention when posted photographs of his cars and yachts on Instagram under the hashtag #luxuryliving. He also boasted of how he would give girlfriends a daily shopping allowance of $80,000 in 100-dollar bills.
The settlement and sale of the collection of vehicles is a small victory, but it sends an important message to African dictators who have looted the resources of their countries at the expense of their people. The successful recoveries have been few and far between. However, it is a marked improvement compared to what happened only a decade ago when Europe turned a blind eye to the looting of Africa. In recent years, investigators in the United States and Europe have successfully confiscated more than £1bn from bank accounts connected to Nigeria’s late dictator Sani Abacha.
This is not the end of the road by any means. Those who loot African resources have found ways to beat the system. They are now keeping funds away from the West or are creating shell companies in secretive offshore territories like Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands. The Panama Papers showed how widespread money-laundering is and the immense effort spent on concealing their wealth in offshore shell companies. Most of these kleptocrats can afford expensive lawyers and bankers adept at evading law enforcement and beat or prolong the complex and cumbersome asset-tracing and recovery processes in many jurisdictions. By the time the red-tape is cut, it is usually too late to find and recover any asset. Nigeria’s former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is still at large despite a US Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to reclaim assets worth $144 million—including a $50 million luxury condo apartment in New York and a $80 million yacht—believed to have been proceeds of corrupt dealings. James Ibori, former governor of oil-rich Delta state, was convicted sentenced to thirteen years in jail in Britain in 2012 after admitting to plundering more than £200m from the public purse and stashing much of it in the UK. Nine years after he was first arrested and more than two years since he completed his prison sentence, Ibori’s lawyers have been able to frustrate efforts to confiscate most of the £80m frozen in his British bank accounts.
The costs of recovering assets are prohibitive, and many countries still have secretive banking laws and accessing information remains a major problem. It took no less than 17 years and 60 decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to return the USD 684 million stolen by the Marcos regime to the Philippines. Despite these obstacles, the success in the Obiang case shows we are heading in the right direction. Recovered assets, if properly managed, can contribute to finance social services and improve the living conditions of the people. It also helps to enhance responsible public financial management and contributes to more accountability and transparency. It is hopefully an important step that will deter future leaders from looting the national coffers.
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