A Bioko provincial court in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday sentenced former senior official Baltasar Ebang Engonga to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of embezzling public funds, court officials and local media reported. The judgment follows a high-profile trial that has drawn intense public and international attention.
Engonga, who until his arrest served as director of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF), was accused of diverting public money — including funds claimed as travel expenses — for personal use. Prosecutors brought multiple counts tied to the alleged misappropriation of state resources.
The court also imposed a heavy fine on Engonga: local reports say the penalty amounts to roughly 125.4 million CFA francs (about €190,000), part of the sanctions announced alongside the prison term. Several co-defendants who were tried with Engonga face related corruption charges as investigators continue to unravel the case.
The conviction comes after months of scandal surrounding the official: hundreds of intimate videos that reportedly involve Engonga and several other people circulated online last year, triggering shock and embarrassment inside the country and prompting separate legal and disciplinary actions. The sex-tape revelations intensified scrutiny of Equatorial Guinea’s elite and helped push the corruption case into the public spotlight.
Authorities and court spokespeople said the ruling is part of a broader drive to tackle financial wrongdoing by public officials; media accounts indicate appeals or further legal moves are likely as defence lawyers review the verdict. Coverage of the case is continuing and officials have urged the public to await formal statements from the justice ministry and the courts for full details.
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