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Equatorial Guinea Official Baltasar Engonga Sentenced to 8 Years for Embezzlement Following Sex Tape Scandal
According to the court, Engonga and five other senior officials were involved in embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds in the oil-rich Central African nation.
A court in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday sentenced senior government official Baltasar Ebang Engonga to eight years in prison for embezzlement, following a high-profile scandal involving leaked sex tapes.
Engonga, the former head of the national financial investigation agency, was found guilty by the Bioko provincial tribunal of misappropriating public funds by claiming professional travel expenses for personal use. The conviction was confirmed in a statement to reporters by Supreme Court press director Hilario Mitogo via WhatsApp.
According to the court, Engonga and five other senior officials were involved in embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds in the oil-rich Central African nation.
Nicknamed “Bello,” Engonga gained international notoriety in November when a series of sex tapes surfaced on social media. The explicit videos, some reportedly filmed in his finance ministry office and involving the wives of other officials, went viral while he was in detention awaiting trial for embezzlement.
The scandal sparked widespread online mockery, including parody songs, dances, and a spoof virility drug jokingly named “Balthazariem.”
Mitogo said the court also imposed a fine of $220,000 on Engonga in addition to his prison sentence.
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