…For buying Michael Jackson’s used gloves $275,000
The United Kingdom (UK) has sanctioned Teodoro Obiang Mangue, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president, for misappropriating millions of dollars spent on luxury mansions, private jets and a $275,000 glove worn by Michael Jackson.
UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said Teodoro Obiang Mangue, who is also vice president of Equatorial Guinea, had participated in “corrupt contracting arrangements and soliciting bribes, to fund a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with his official salary as a government minister.”
The UK said Obiang bought a $100 million mansion in Paris, a $38 million private jet, a luxury yacht, and dozens of luxury vehicles including Ferraris, Bentleys and Aston Martins, and he also bought “a collection of Michael Jackson’s memorabilia including a $275,000 crystal-covered glove that the musician wore during his time.
Michael Jackson wearing the hand glove
UK, therefore, disclosed that sanctions against Obiang include freezing of assets and a travel ban.
Teodoro’s father, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has ruled Equatorial Guinea since taking power in a coup in 1979, eleven years after independence from Spain.
It is not the first time foreign governments are cracking down on Obiang.
In 2017, Obiang was convicted for corruption by a French court and handed a three-year suspended jail term after prosecutors accused him of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering.
In 2018, Brazilian police seized millions of dollars in cash, including a set of luxury watches from a delegation traveling with the wealthy Central African ruler following a search on their private aircraft in Sao Paulo.
The country grew rich in the past few decades due to the exploitation of its oil reserves, but more than 76% of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank
– Media Report