A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a former high-ranking government official, to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of embezzlement.
Engonga, who previously served as the head of the national financial investigation agency, was convicted of diverting public funds intended for official professional travel and using them for personal purposes.
The ruling was delivered by the Bioko provincial tribunal, which also imposed a substantial fine of $220,000 on the convicted former official.
According to Hilario Mitogo, the press director of the country’s Supreme Court, Engonga was tried alongside five other senior government officials who were similarly accused of misappropriating several hundred thousand dollars in public money.
The case garnered significant public attention, partly due to Engonga’s notoriety following the earlier leak of explicit videos featuring him and several women, which circulated widely on social media.
These recordings emerged while he was already under investigation for the financial misconduct charges and included appearances with the spouses of other government officials.
The sentencing marks a notable judicial action against corruption within the upper levels of Equatorial Guinea’s government.
The court’s decision reflects ongoing efforts to address graft and misuse of public resources, particularly involving figures who held positions of significant trust and responsibility.
The scandal surrounding Engonga had already attracted widespread media coverage and public discussion, both for the serious nature of the financial charges and the accompanying personal controversies that unfolded publicly during the legal proceedings.
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cc: Daily Post NG
