A court in Equatorial Guinea has convicted Ruslan Obiang Nsue, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, for the illegal sale of a national airline plane.
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Obiang Nsue, 50, a former director of Ceiba Intercontinental, sold an ATR 72-500 aircraft to a Spanish company and diverted the proceeds for personal use. He was sentenced to six years in prison but could avoid jail if he reimburses the airline about $255,000, in addition to paying damages and a fine to the state.
Court press director Hilario Mitogo said Obiang Nsue was acquitted of separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.
The case first came to light in 2023 when Obiang Nsue was placed under house arrest on the orders of his half-brother, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.
Ruslan Obiang, who has also served as secretary of state for sports and youth, is the latest member of the ruling family to face corruption-related charges. In 2021, a French court handed his half-brother, Vice President Obiang Mangue, a suspended prison sentence and a $35 million fine after convicting him of embezzling public funds.
President Obiang, 83, has ruled the oil-rich Central African nation for 46 years, making him the world’s longest-serving head of state.
