Equatorial Guinea Court Jails Former Top Official Baltasar Ebang Engonga for Embezzlement

A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a former senior government official, to eight years in prison for embezzlement of public funds. Engonga, who previously headed the country’s national financial investigation agency, was also ordered to pay a fine of $220,000.

According to the Supreme Court’s press director Hilario Mitogo, the Bioko provincial tribunal found Engonga guilty of diverting funds allocated for professional travel expenses and using them for personal gain.

Mr. Engonga and other accused people in court

Engonga stood trial alongside five other senior officials, who were accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds. The scandal attracted further attention after Engonga went viral last year when sex tapes involving him and several women surfaced online, including videos with the spouses of other officials.

The case followed his detention in November, when the videos spread on social media while investigations into the embezzlement allegations were already underway.

Mr Baltasar Engonga standing before the court

Engonga’s conviction marks one of the most high-profile corruption cases in Equatorial Guinea in recent years, highlighting the government’s ongoing struggle with financial misconduct among public officials.