A collection of ultra-expensive supercars worth $ 13 million was confiscated from the hands of the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, as a suspected corruptor.
Swiss authorities seized a collection of 11 luxury cars belonging to Obiang Mangue, who is also the son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, in 2016 after cases of corruption and money laundering were investigated.
The supercar collection was finally auctioned off by London-based auction house Bonhams to be returned to the country. The auction was held in September 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.
As quoted by CNN.com in the July 1, 2019 edition, the luxury supercar cars resulting from corruption include the roadster version of the Lamborghini Veneno decorated with the colors of the Italian flag. This car is one of only nine produced to celebrate Lambhorgini’s 50th birthday and the price is estimated £ 4.5 million.
A limited-edition LaFerrari sports car with an estimated price of £ 2.5 million is also up for auction. There’s also the 1,300 horsepower Koenigsegg One: 1 supercar, one of seven ever produced that is estimated worth up to £ 2 million. In addition, Obiang Mangue collects supercars McLaren P1, Aston Martin One-77, and Bugatti Veyron.
In terms of mileage, speedometer records shown that no car has traveled more than a few thousand miles. Geneva police seized the flotilla from the cargo area at the city’s airport in 2016 after the corruption case broke out on Obiang Mangue. The case has even been investigated in several countries.
The corruptor was sentenced to prison but his execution was suspended for 3 years in a case of embezzlement by a French court in 2017. Obiang Mangue spent the money on a Paris mansion, private jets, and a fleet of luxury cars out of loot in his country.
Earlier, Obiang Mangue agreed to a $ 30 million fine to settle allegations by the US Government that he used money looted from his country to accumulate assets in the US.
He is accused of giving up a mansion in California, jets, and a fairly expensive collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia. Obiang has the white crystal-encrusted gloves that “King of Pop” AKA Michael Jackson wore on his “Bad” world tour.
Then in 2018, Brazil confiscated more than $ 16 million in cash and luxury watches from a delegation traveling on Obiang Mangue.
Corruptor Obiang Mangue also owns a yacht called Ice, which reportedly costs around $ 800,000 a month to maintain. So says an article in the French newspaper Le Monde.
His father, President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, seized power in a coup in 1979. He is the longest-running head of state on the African continent.
Mbasogo then appointed his son, Obiang Mangue, as his representative in 2016 in the oil-rich country and one of the richest in Africa.
For several years, the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International described Equatorial Guinea as “too opaque to rank.” So Transparency International says it can’t get enough data on this country for a global corruption index.
