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A court in Equatorial Guinea has convicted Ruslan Obiang Nsue, a son of long-serving President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, over the unauthorised sale of an aircraft belonging to the national carrier Ceiba Intercontinental.
The ruling ordered Ruslan Obiang Nsue, 50, to serve six years in prison unless he reimburses the state for the missing aeroplane and pays additional damages and fines.
Ruslan Obiang Nsue
The Supreme Court’s press director, Hilario Mitogo, made the announcement to reporters.
Judges found that while serving as a senior official at Ceiba Intercontinental Ruslan Obiang Nsue sold an ATR 72-500 aircraft to a Spanish firm and retained the proceeds.
Prosecutors say the aircraft had been undergoing routine maintenance in Spain since 2018 and disappeared from company records during that period.
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The court said the convict could avoid immediate imprisonment if he repays roughly USD255,000 (Sh32,895,000) to the airline and meets court-ordered compensation and state fines.
The sale has previously been linked to a Spanish maintenance outfit based in Las Palmas, with earlier investigations naming Binter Technic as the company that received the aircraft.
Ruslan Obiang Nsue
Equatorial Guinea state television and international reports first flagged the disappearance in late 2022, prompting a judicial inquiry.
The ATR 72-500 is a twin-engine turboprop commonly used on short regional routes.
Ruslan Obiang Nsue had been under house arrest since January 2023 after his half-brother, Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, ordered his detention while the probe continued.
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Teodorin Obiang is the son of Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled the country for four decades
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During his career he served in senior roles at Ceiba Intercontinental and has held government posts, including a period as Secretary of State for Sports and Youth.
The court acquitted him of separate charges that included embezzlement and abuse of office.
The ruling comes amid a wider string of prosecutions involving members of the presidential family and senior officials.
In a separate case this week, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a nephew of President Obiang and a former head of the National Financial Investigation Agency, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of diverting public funds.
Baltasar Ebang Engonga in court
The Bioko provincial tribunal imposed a prison term and a fine equivalent to about CFA125.4 million.
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Officials have characterised the judgments as enforcement of the law regardless of status.
The conviction of Ruslan Obiang Nsue underscores a rare move by Equatorial Guinea’s judiciary to hold senior political figures accountable.
While questions remain about the wider implications for governance in the oil-rich nation, the case signals that even members of the ruling family can face legal consequences when state resources are at stake.