A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a senior government official, to eight years in prison for embezzlement, following months of public scandal over leaked sex tapes involving other officials’ wives.
The Bioko provincial tribunal convicted Engonga, the former head of the national financial investigation agency, of diverting funds claimed as professional travel expenses for personal use, according to Hilario Mitogo, the supreme court press director, in a WhatsApp message to reporters.
Engonga, who is married, was tried alongside five other senior officials accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich Central African nation.
The case drew international attention last November when Engonga, nicknamed “Bello”, featured in explicit sex tapes, some reportedly filmed in his office at the finance ministry.
The clips circulated widely on social media while he was in detention pending trial, sparking a wave of parodies, songs, dances, and even posts about a mock virility drug dubbed “Balthazariem.”
In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a $220,000 fine on Engonga.