Equatorial Guinea jails ex-crimes chief Engonga for embezzlement, sex tape scandal

A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a former top government official, to eight years in prison for embezzling public funds, in a case that has gripped the country with both financial and moral scandal.

Engonga, who once served as head of the national financial investigation agency, was convicted by the Bioko provincial tribunal of diverting funds allocated for official travel into his personal accounts.

The court, presided over by judges of the provincial tribunal, also imposed a fine of $220,000 on the disgraced official.

According to Hilario Mitogo, press director of the Supreme Court, Engonga was tried alongside five other senior officials accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state treasury.

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The proceedings followed his dramatic fall from grace in November 2024, when he was arrested while under investigation for corruption.

His arrest coincided with the viral circulation of multiple sex tapes allegedly showing him with several women—including the wives of high-ranking government officials—causing public outrage and embarrassment for the ruling elite.

The tribunal ruled that Engonga and his co-defendants abused their positions of trust by channeling state resources for personal enrichment, undermining the country’s efforts to fight financial misconduct.

The sentencing marks one of the most high-profile corruption cases in Equatorial Guinea in recent years, reflecting the government’s attempt to clamp down on graft within its bureaucracy, even as critics argue that prosecutions are often selective and politically motivated.

Engonga’s co-accused are expected to face separate judgments in the coming weeks as part of the ongoing anti-corruption crackdown.