A court in Equatorial Guinea sentenced Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a former senior official, to eight years in prison on Wednesday for embezzling funds, following a high-profile scandal involving s^x tapes that captured global attention.
The Bioko provincial tribunal convicted Engonga, previously the head of the national financial investigation agency, for misusing professional travel expense funds for personal gain, according to Hilario Mitogo, the supreme court press director, in a WhatsApp statement to reporters.
Engonga, known as “Bello,” and five other senior officials were accused of diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich Central African nation.
Alongside the embezzlement charges, Engonga gained notoriety in November 2024 when explicit videos surfaced on social media, showing him with the wives of other officials, some filmed in his finance ministry office.
The clips, leaked while he was detained awaiting trial, sparked widespread online mockery, including parodies, songs, dances, and memes about a fictional virility drug called “Balthazariem.”
The court imposed an eight-year sentence and a $220,000 fine on Engonga, who is married.
The ruling marks a significant development in Equatorial Guinea’s efforts to address corruption among high-ranking officials, though the sensational nature of the s^x tape scandal has overshadowed the financial misconduct case.
Further details on the sentencing of the other accused officials are yet to be disclosed. The case continues to fuel public and online discourse in the country and beyond.
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