Paris Trial of EG Dictator's Son Postponed

The Paris correctional court decided January 4 to postpone the trial of Teodorin Obiang, son of Equatorial Guinean dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema and himself a vice-president of the country, until between June 19 and July 6, according to French news agency AFP.

Teodorin Obiang was not himself in court. The trial had originally been expected to continue next week. He is charged with having built up a fortune in France on the basis of fraud, including a six-storey house on Paris's exclusive Avenue Foch and over a dozen sports cars.

Equatorial Guinea LNG  (Photo source: the company)

Obiang junior is alleged to have misused the oil and gas-rich west African nation's public funds. The Avenue Foch mansion alone is said to be worth more than $100mn.

Equatorial Guinea LNG has exported since 2007 and is one-quarter owned by state concern Sonagas.

Mark Smedley