The UK government has sanctioned Teodoro Obiang Mangue, son of Equatorial Guinea long serving president, after he bought a glove worn by Michael Jackson at $275,000 (about N113M).
Mangue, who is also second vice president of Equatorial Guinea, had participated in “corrupt contracting arrangements and soliciting bribes, to fund a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with his official salary as a government minister”, a statement by the UK said on Thursday.
The UK announced that Mangue has been sanctioned for his excesses and for misappropriating millions of dollars which London said was spent on luxury mansions and private jets.
Making the announcement, the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the sanctions against Obiang and four other individuals involved in “serious corruption” in Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Iraq and Equatorial Guinea.
The foreign ministry said he also bought “a collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia including a $275,000 crystal-covered glove that Jackson wore on his “Bad” tour.
France had seized many assets of Teodoro Obiang Mangue two years ago.
His father President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled Equatorial Guinea since taking power in a coup in 1979, eleven years after independence from Spain.
The country grew rich in the past few decades due to the exploitation of its oil reserves, but more than 76% of the population live in poverty, according to the World Bank.
