Viral personality, Baltazar Ebang Engonga appears in a Malabo court after spending 10 months in detention, as high-profile corruption trial continues in Equatorial Guinea.
Engonga was convicted and handed 18 years imprisonment after being found guilty of embezzling over 1 Billion Franc in government funds.
The former Director-General of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigations Agency (ANIF) had been detained at Black Beach Prison since 2024, facing embezzlement charges alongside several other officials.
According to reports, Baltazar personally pocketed 910 million Francs out of the stolen sum – out of which was allegedly blown on women and lavish pleasures.
During court proceedings, prosecutors detailed what they describing as a sophisticated scheme to divert public funds for personal gain.
The scheme was allegedly coordinated by Engonga during the tenure as head of the Director General of Insurance and Reinsurance (DGAR) from 2015 – 2020.
In addition to the prison terms the charges include a recommended fine of over 910 million CFA Francs ( approximately 1. 5 million USD) and a prohibition from holding public office throughout the sentence period.
Engonga is not the only high-ranking officials facing trial. Six other former senior officials are being prosecuted for allegedly misappropriating public funds in what authorities describe as a vast network for financial corruption.
Engonga’s legal team has denounced the charges as politically driven and questioned the reliability of the prosecution’s evidence.
-9News Nigeria.
