Equatorial Guinea President’s Son Jailed for Illegal Sale of National Aircraft
Ruslan Obiang Nsue, 50, can avoid prison by repaying about $255,000 plus damages for selling a Ceiba aircraft to a Spanish firm.
A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced one of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema’s sons, Ruslan Obiang Nsue, to six years in prison for illegally selling a plane belonging to the national carrier, Ceiba Intercontinental. The court ruled that he could avoid jail if he reimburses the state for the loss.
Obiang Nsue, 50, was found guilty of selling the ATR 72-500 aircraft to a Spanish company and keeping the proceeds. The Supreme Court said he must pay about $255,000 to the airline in addition to damages and fines if he wishes to escape imprisonment.
He had been under house arrest since 2023 on the orders of his half-brother, Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, who is also the president’s son. The court cleared him of separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.
Obiang Nsue previously served as director of the airline and as secretary of state for sports and youth. His conviction adds to a long list of corruption scandals surrounding the Obiang family, including the vice-president’s suspended jail sentence and $35 million fine imposed by a French court in 2021.
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