A nephew of Equatorial Guinea’s long-ruling president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, has seen his political ambitions collapse after a court handed him an eight-year jail term for embezzlement — capping a dramatic fall from grace worsened by leaked sex tapes.
Baltasar Ebang Engonga, better known as Bello, once held a powerful post as head of the National Financial Investigation Agency, a role meant to guard against corruption. Instead, judges found he had siphoned off public money into his own accounts, while he and several officials pocketed fake overseas travel allowances ranging from $9,000 to $220,000.
The court not only sent him to prison but also ordered him to pay a hefty $220,000 fine. Evidence revealed that large sums had been tucked away in Cayman Islands accounts. For a man once tasked with investigating financial crimes, the irony was not lost on many Equatoguineans.
But it wasn’t just the money scandal that wrecked Bello’s career. His downfall sped up after explicit sex videos — showing him with multiple women, including some from elite families — flooded the internet last year. The clips appeared shortly after his October 2024 arrest, when security forces seized his phones and computers. Many believe the leaks were no coincidence, with suspicions swirling that they were deliberately released to destroy his image.
From investigator to inmate, Bello is now locked up in the infamous Black Beach prison in Malabo. His conviction effectively removes him from the succession chessboard in a country where power struggles often play out behind closed doors.
President Obiang, who has ruled since 1979, remains the world’s longest-serving head of state. His son and vice-president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, is widely seen as the heir-in-waiting. Bello’s dramatic fall serves as yet another reminder of how scandals and political rivalries continue to shape the high-stakes future of the oil-rich nation.
