A senior official in Equatorial Guinea has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of embezzlement, months after sex tapes featuring him went viral.
The Bioko provincial tribunal found Baltasar Ebang Engonga, once head of the national financial investigation agency, guilty of diverting state funds for personal use. Hilario Mitogo, the press director of the Supreme Court, confirmed the verdict on Wednesday in a statement shared with reporters.
Engonga, widely known by his nickname “Bello,” was accused alongside five other officials of claiming inflated travel expenses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich Central African nation. The court also imposed a fine of $220,000, according to Mitogo.
The scandal attracted global attention last November when sex tapes allegedly recorded in Engonga’s office at the finance ministry circulated on social media. The clips, released while he was already in custody, sparked a flood of online parody. Songs, memes, and even a spoof drug branded “Balthazariem” poked fun at the disgraced official.
The court proceedings, however, were focused on financial wrongdoing rather than his private life. Authorities have framed the case as part of efforts to curb corruption, though critics say high-level prosecutions in Equatorial Guinea remain rare and often politically selective.
Engonga, who is married, has not publicly responded to the ruling. His lawyers also declined to comment.
The government has not released details on whether the five other officials accused alongside him will face similar penalties.
For many in Equatorial Guinea, the case has become a symbol of both unchecked power and the state’s struggle to rein in graft in one of Africa’s wealthiest oil producers.
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