U.S.: Equatorial Guinea official must sell Malibu mansion, Michael Jackson memorabilia
The U.S. Justice Department has ordered Teodorin Nguema Obiang, the second vice president of Equatorial Guinea, to sell more than $30 million worth of property thought to have been purchased with funds earned from corrupt deals.
Obiang will surrender a mansion in Malibu, California, luxury cars, and Michael Jackson memorabilia. He will be able to keep items that are overseas, including Jackson's famous white crystal glove and a $38.5 million Gulfstream jet, but those could be taken if brought to the United States.
The order stems from a 2011 civil forfeiture case against Obiang, alleging he had close to $80 million from corrupt business dealings. "It is an extraordinary case in that this is the first case where [it is] a living person whose assets are being seized, so this is historic in that sense," Ken Hurwitz, a senior legal officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, told Voice of America. Other suits in the U.S. have been filed either after a person has already died or they are no longer in power.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Obiang, the son of the country's leader, says all of his items were bought with money he earned legally. The money from the sale of his assets will be donated to organizations that help the citizens of Equatorial Guinea, where the World Bank says three-quarters of residents live below the poverty line.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'
Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published