A senior government official in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement following a high-profile scandal that also involved leaked $@x tapes.
Engonga, a former head of the national financial investigation agency, was convicted by the Bioko provincial tribunal for diverting funds meant for professional travel expenses to his personal use.
According to the Supreme Court’s press director, Hilario Mitogo, the court also imposed a fine of $220,000 on the former official.
The case involved Engonga and five other senior government officials accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich Central African country.
Engonga, who was married, gained worldwide notoriety in November when explicit videos featuring him and the wives of other officials surfaced on social media.
Some of the recordings were reportedly filmed inside his office at the Ministry of Finance. The scandal triggered widespread online reactions, including parodies, memes, and jokes about a fictitious virility drug dubbed “Balthazariem.”
The videos were released while Engonga was already in detention over the embezzlement allegations, further intensifying public interest in the case.
Equatorial Guinea, one of Africa’s largest oil producers, has faced persistent criticism over corruption and governance issues.
The sentencing of Engonga is seen as one of the most significant anti-graft actions in recent years in the country.
