By Faith Karimi and Matou Diop, CNN|
The son of Equatorial Guinea’s President is on trial in France for splurging on a Parisian mansion, a private jet and a fleet of luxury cars using tens of millions of dollars he allegedly looted from his country.
Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue’s trial on charges of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering started in Paris on Monday and is expected to last several weeks.
Prosecutors say he’s amassed a fortune, including an opulent mansion near the Champs-Elysees, along with Bugattis, Ferraris, and an Aston Martin. He also allegedly spent millions of dollars on pricey European art and jewelry.
He also owns a yacht named Ice, which reportedly costs about $800,000 a month to maintain, according to an article in the French newspaper Le Monde.
Obiang, 47, serves as his father’s vice president and earns about $100,000 a year in that role, according to his lawyer, Emmanuel Marsigny.
In addition to his government job, the lawyer said, Obiang has income from his various private businesses in the central African nation.
“He is accused of money laundering for investing or sending funds in France that would come from offenses committed in Equatorial Guinea,” his lawyer told CNN.
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Source: CNN
