Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue (born 25 June 1968, nicknamed Teodorín) is the

Vice President of Equatorial Guinea The vice president of Equatorial Guinea is the second highest political position obtainable in Equatorial Guinea. Following the 2011 constitutional reform, there is a provision for two vice presidents who are appointed by the president of Equat ...

, in office since 2016. He is a son of

Teodoro Obiang Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician and former military officer who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since August 1979. He is the longest-serving president of any country ev ...

, the authoritarian leader of

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

, by his first wife, Constancia Mangue. He has been appointed to numerous government positions by his father's regime, including Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and "Second Vice-President", in charge of defense and security, in May 2012. He was promoted to the position of First Vice-President in June, 2016. Known for his lavish lifestyle, he has been the subject of a number of international criminal charges and sanctions for alleged embezzlement and corruption.

Education

Nguema studied at the ''École des Roches'' in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, a French private school. He registered to attend

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

in Malibu,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States for a four-term non-degree program in English as a second language. He lived lavishly at the

Beverly Wilshire Hotel The Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, commonly known as the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, is a historic luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, it was completed in 1928. It has ...

and rarely attended class; he dropped out after only five months, reportedly at the behest of university administrators.

Political career and possible succession

Nguema served as Adviser to the Presidency in the 1990s and subsequently as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, a post he held for about 15 years."Guinée équatoriale : le président Obiang promeut son fils Teodorìn premier vice-président"
''Jeune Afrique'', 23 June 2016 . It was reported in 2005 that Nguema was to be made

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of Equatorial Guinea, which, according to the constitution, would allow him to accede to the presidency upon his father's retirement. He was eventually elevated to the post of Second Vice-President, in charge of defense and security, on 21 May 2012, alongside former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Ignacio Milam Tang Ignacio Milam Tang (born 20 June 1940
.) is an

April 2016 presidential election, placed him clearly in line to succeed his father.

Spending and controversies

Presidential palace in malabo equatorial guinea

As Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Nguema was paid €3,200 a month. ''The New York Times'' reported in 2004 that Nguema was "a rap music entrepreneur and bon vivant, fond of Lamborghinis and long trips to Hollywood and Rio de Janeiro". Superyacht '' Tatoosh'' was hired for £400,000 by him for a Christmas cruise on which he entertained rap singer

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

. Nguema drew criticism from the international media for spending close to R10,000,000 over a weekend in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on champagne, property renovations, a black 2004

Bentley Arnage The Bentley Arnage is a full-size luxury car manufactured and marketed by Bentley Motors in Crewe, England, from 1998 to 2009. The Arnage and its Rolls-Royce-branded sibling, the Silver Seraph, were introduced in the spring of 1998. They were ...

, a cream 2005

Bentley Continental R The Bentley Continental R is a luxury coupé manufactured by British automobile manufacturer Bentley Motors from 1991 to 2003. It was the first Bentley to feature a body not shared with a Rolls-Royce model since the 1965 S3 Continental and wa ...

from MG Rover

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and a 2005

Lamborghini Murcielago Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

, although some assets may soon be forcibly auctioned due to his failure to pay a South African businessman. American law enforcement officials believe that most or perhaps all of his wealth comes from corruption connected to oil and gas reserves in Equatorial Guinea. Nguema's foreign interests include two houses in South Africa, worth a combined R50,000,000, a $31,000,000 compound in Malibu, California, US, a home on

Avenue Foch Avenue Foch () is an avenue in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, named after World War I Marshal Ferdinand Foch in 1929. It is one of the most prestigious streets in Paris, and one of the most expensive addresses in the world, home to ...

in the affluent

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de T ...

, and the hip hop music

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

TNO Entertainment. In 2008 he owned one of the 30 models of the

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver Pie ...

sports car (estimated at 1,100,000

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

) and a Maserati MC 12 at 700,000 €.David Servenay
Transparency porte plainte pour saisir la Ferrari d'Omar Bongo
''

Rue 89 Rue89 is a French news website started by former journalists from the newspaper ''Libération''. It was officially launched on 6 May 2007, on the day of the second round of the French presidential election. Its news editor is Pascal Riché, forme ...

'', 15 July 2008 He went on to purchase another Bugatti Veyron, and tried to purchase a third. In late 2011, both Veyrons, as well as nine other cars he owned, were seized by French police investigating

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

. In July 2013, the confiscated goods were sold at auction. On 19 January 2013, Nguema's father Teodoro Obiang arrested Roberto Berardi, an Italian building contractor, active for 20 years in Africa. After working in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, Berardi had formed a construction company with him, but discovered some strange operations on the current account and asked for an explanation. A few hours later, the Italian contractor was arrested on charges of fraud and embezzlement. Berardi was fined 1.2 million euros and jailed. No charges were brought from Italy against Obiang. Berardi was released on 14 July 2015 after more than two years of detention, including 18 months in solitary confinement. On 18 October 2016,

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

prosecutors opened an investigation on Nguema after he landed eight times in Geneva. French authorities had asked them for

judicial assistance Judicial Assistance is the admittance and enforcement of a judicial order or request by a court from one jurisdiction to a court in another jurisdiction. Such admittance sometimes requires a treaty between the governments of the two jurisdictions. ...

. He eventually reached an accommodation with the Swiss, letting them sell his seized luxury cars, valued at 18.5 million Swiss francs, and the payment of 1.3 million Swiss francs. On 27 September 2019, in an auction organised by British auctioneers

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...

, 25 luxury cars were sold for 23.4m Swiss francs. On 14 September 2018, Nguema flew on an official plane to Brazil with other 9 passengers and had some of their 19 bags searched by the Brazilian border police in

Viracopos-Campinas International Airport Viracopos – Campinas International Airport (sometimes referred to as São Paulo/Campinas or São Paulo/Viracopos) is an international airport serving the municipality of Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil. On 6 January 1987, the airport name ...

. They found approximately US$1.4 million in cash and 20 watches with estimated value of US$15 million.

Embezzlement charges

In October 2011, seven years after the

United States Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), stood up in March 1941 as the "Truman Committee," is the oldest subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (formerly the Committee on Governme ...

exposed the Nguema's family secret accounts at

Riggs Bank Riggs Bank was a bank headquartered in Washington, D.C. For most of its history, it was the largest bank headquartered in that city. On May 13, 2005, after the exposure of several money laundering scandals, the bank was acquired by PNC Financ ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and five years after non-profit

Global Witness Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washingt ...

discovered his mansion purchase in Malibu; the

US Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and a ...

went to court to seize $70 million ( £44m) of his US assets, which include a

Gulfstream The Gulf Stream is a warm Atlantic Ocean current. Gulf Stream or Gulfstream may also refer to: Places *Gulf Stream, Florida, a town in the United States Art, entertainment, and media *''Gulf Stream Magazine'', a literary magazine at Florida Intern ...

jet, yachts, cars and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

memorabilia. On 11 June 2012, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) filed an amended complaint against Nguema, after a judge requested more evidence of the alleged corruption. The revised complaint states that he spent $315 million on properties and luxury goods between 2004 and 2011. According to the foreign complaint, he, while Minister of Forestry, levied personal "taxes" against local and foreign timber companies for licenses to operate and export timber, such as a $28.80 tax for every log exported, to fund his lavish lifestyle. The foreign prosecutors state that his expenditures "were inconsistent with both his known salary of less than $100,000 per year, and the income he purportedly generated from his companies." In October 2014, he reached a settlement with the United States Department of Justice to pay the U.S. DoJ some of the funds held at accounts on his behalf, as well as his Malibu home, a Ferrari, and portions of his Michael Jackson collection, for a total estimated value of US$34 million. Upon the resolution of the settlement, he was able to keep his Gulfstream Jet, as well as some of the Michael Jackson memorabilia, including the $275,000 crystal Michael Jackson glove which he wore during his 1987–89 "Bad" tour, and other assets. $20 million of the proceeds was pledged, on DOJ's website, to go to a charitable institution for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea. Another $10.3 million was pledged to be used for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea "to the extent permitted by law." Since both of these pledges, there have been no records of the funds sent to any of the citizens, nor any of the infrastructure of Equatorial Guinea. In February 2012, a Parisian mansion belonging to Nguema, worth around

100 million, was raided by French police and they discovered luxury goods inside worth millions of euros. In July 2012, an arrest warrant was issued for him.The Republic of Equatorial Guinea institutes proceedings against France with regard to "the immunity from criminal jurisdiction of tsSecond Vice-President in charge of Defence and State Security, and the legal status of the building which houses tsEmbassy in France", , retrieved 11 December 2016 The mansion was seized by French authorities in August 2012. He was indicted by the French justice on several counts of corruption and money-laundering with an 'in absentia' trial beginning in 2017. In response, Equatorial Guinea filed a case against France in the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

accusing France of breaching the

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

of its representatives and premises. In the preliminary phase the court found that France must guarantee the protection of the premises presented as housing the diplomatic mission of Equatorial Guinea in France. In September 2016, the District Attorneys Roger Le Loire and Charlotte Bilger referred Nguema to the Criminal Court of Paris, and issued an arrest warrant through

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

. This procedure was validated by the International Court of Justice in December 2016. The French trial concluded in October 2017 with Nguema receiving a

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

of three years plus a suspended fine of

30 million. His properties in France, as well as 17 luxury cars, were also seized, including the Parisian mansion.

UK sanctions

On 22 July 2021, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

imposed sanctions on Nguema over "lavish lifestyle" spending, which he spent on mansions, private jets, among other things. In retaliation, the Foreign Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Simeón Oyono Esono Angue, announced the closure of the country's embassy in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, as the British government sanctioned Nguema. The Minister said that it was the first measure and that Equatorial Guinea "will not allow interference in internal affairs".

References

External links

Teodoro Nguema's Instagram accountTeodoro Nguema's Facebook pageHomepage for the Ministry of Agriculture for the Republic of Equatorial GuineaOfficial Homepage for the Ministry of Agriculture for the Republic of Equatorial Guinea

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070124025652/http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/malibu-bad-neighbor/15436/ Malibu Bad Neighbor: A dictator in training buys his way in, as politically active superstars stay mum]
Secret documents reveal multi-million dollar shopping spree by African dictator's son; U.S. authorities fail to act on evidence of corruptionToadorin's World – article in Foreign Policy Magazine BY KEN SILVERSTEIN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguema Obiang Mangue, Teodoro 1968 births Living people People from Wele-Nzas Children of national leaders Vice presidents of Equatorial Guinea Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea politicians Agriculture ministers of Equatorial Guinea Pepperdine University alumni Equatoguinean politicians convicted of crimes