Dare Babalola
A senior government official in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement.
This comes months after he became notorious over leaked sex tapes with other officials’ wives.
The former head of the national financial investigation agency was convicted on Wednesday by the Bioko provincial tribunal for diverting money claimed as professional travel expenses for personal use.
According to media outlet, AFP, the development was made public by the supreme court press director, Hilario Mitogo, in a WhatsApp message sent to reporters.
Engonga and five other senior officials were accused of embezzling expenses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich central African state.
Nicknamed “Bello”, Engonga made world headlines in November with the sex tapes, some of them filmed in his office at the finance ministry, published on social media while he was in detention pending the embezzlement case.
The clips prompted a wave of online parodies, including songs and dances and posts about a spoof virility drug dubbed “Balthazariem”.
Mitogo said the provincial court handed Engonga an eight-year sentence and a fine worth $220,000.
