Financial Transparency Coalition

WASHINGTON, DC - Today the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) unsealed an asset forfeiture claim against a $30m Malibu house, a $38.5 million Gulfstream jet and other assets owned by the son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, claiming that they were bought with the proceeds of corruption. Global Witness, which in 2006 first revealed that Teodorin Obiang owned the Malibu mansion, welcomes this action after several years of investigations.

Teodoro Nguema Obiang has controlled Equatorial Guineasince he executed his uncle in a bloody coup d’état in 1979. Equatorial Guinea is a country in Middle Africa on the coast. It is one of the smallest and wealthiest countries in the continent, in large part because it holds Africa’s largest oil reserves. Yet the wealth is extremely concentrated in the hands of the government and the ruling elite. As a result over 75% of the population lives below $2 per day, 35% of its citizens do not live past the age of 40, and nearly 60%...

Teodoro Nguema Obiang has controlled Equatorial Guinea since he executed his uncle in a bloody coup d’état in 1979. Equatorial Guinea is a country in Middle Africa on the coast. It is one of the smallest and wealthiest countries in the continent, in large part because it holds Africa’s largest oil reserves. Yet the wealth is extremely concentrated in the hands of the government and the ruling elite. Over 75% of the population lives below $2 per day, 35% of its citizens do not live past the age of 40, and nearly 60% do not...

In the wake of Egypt’s revolution that forced President Hosni Mubarak to step down on February 11th, the country’s interim government has been making a lot of changes, including taking action against the former administration. The government imprisoned a host of powerful former statesmen under Mubarak including Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, sons of the former president, all of whom authorities detained for 15 days and questioned about corruption and abuse. Also imprisoned were Ahmed Nazif, the former prime minister; Zakaria Azmi, the president’s right-hand man; and Fathi Sorour, the former speaker of Parliament. In April, Egypt’s...