DOJ Seeks $70.8M in Corrupt Proceeds from Gov't Minister of Equatorial Guinea
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that the U.S. government has filed two civil forfeiture complaints against approximately $70.8 million in real and personal property from Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, a government minister for Equatorial Guinea. He allegedly acquired criminal proceeds through corruption and money laundering, in violation of both Equatoguinean and U.S. law.
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(This case originated as part of the Justice Department's Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which targets and recovers the proceeds of foreign official corruption that have been laundered into or through the U.S.)
Minister Used His Position and Influence to Acquire Criminal Proceeds
According to the complaints, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue used his position and influence as a government minister for Equatorial Guinea and his association with President Obiang Mbasogo, who is his father, to acquire criminal proceeds through corruption and money laundering.
Amassed More than $100M from Extraction and Sale of Natural Resources
The complaints state that despite an official government salary of less than $100,000 per year, Nguema amassed more than $100 million during a period in which members of the Obiang family and their associates were the near-exclusive beneficiaries of the extraction and sale of Equatorial Guinea's natural resources. However, under Equatoguinean law, natural resources belong to the people of the country.
Used Intermediaries and Shell Companies to Acquire Assets in U.S.
Nguema allegedly used intermediaries and shell companies to acquire numerous assets in the U.S., including more than $1.8 million worth of Michael Jackson memorabilia, a $38.5 million Gulfstream G-V jet, a $30 million house in California, and a 2011 Ferrari automobile valued at more than $530,000.
(See ITT's Online Archives 11102516 for summary of a World Bank and United Nations Study finding that most large-scale corruption cases use shell companies to conceal ownership and control of corrupt proceeds.)
Justice Department press release is available here.
ICE press release is available here.