3 days ago
Equatorial Guinea asks UN court to stop sale of Paris mansion linked to leader's son
Representatives of Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday asked the UN's highest court to issue an emergency halt on the sale of a luxury Paris mansion seized from the son of the African country's ruler while judges rule on the long-running dispute.
The building was seized after a French court convicted Teodoro Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, for embezzlement. He is the 57-year-old son of octogenarian President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Equatorial Guinea argues that France must give back the mansion and other assets, telling the International Court of Justice on Tuesday that France would be violating a United Nations anti-corruption treaty by not returning the property.
It argues that the seized assets are part of the public funds that were embezzled from Equatorial Guinea and should be returned to the state under the treaty. It has not said who embezzled the funds.
"It has become clear that France is determined to sell the building," Equatorial Guinea's representative at the court, Carmelo Nvono-Nca, told judges. France's attitude was paternalistic and neo-colonial, he added.
