The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Friday in favor of Paris in the legal standoff between it and Malabo over the so-called “ill-gotten gains” affair, involving the son of the President of Equatorial Guinea. Chaired by Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf at the United Nations Tribunal and based in The Hague (Netherlands), the International Court of Justice is of the opinion that “the building at 42, avenue Foch in Paris has never acquired the diplomatic mission status of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in the French Republic ”.
What it is
Equatorial Guinea, a country in Central Africa, had dragged France to the ICJ, the highest court of the United Nations, after a raid in 2012 by French police on a luxury property in Paris as part of an investigation targeting Teodorin Obiang , son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema and vice-president responsible in particular for Defense and Security of his country. The property, worth 107 million euros, is located in one of the most exclusive areas of the French capital. The French authorities had seized it along with several luxury cars, including two Bugatti Veyron, one of the most expensive and fastest automobiles in the world, as well as a Rolls-Royce Phantom. The building has a cinema, nightclub, spa and gold taps, and is said to be the Equatorial Guinean embassy in France, according to Malabo, believing that under the Vienna convention, the French police intervention is illegal. Paris disputes this version and considers it to be the residence of Teodorin Obiang.
Equatorial Guinea has denounced since the beginning of the case a violation of the immunity of Teodorin Obiang. According to French justice, he looted the state coffers before buying luxury properties in the most expensive places in the world. Malabo had brought the dispute to the ICJ, which declared itself incompetent on this point in 2018. It had however declared itself competent to rule on the status as diplomatic premises of the avenue Foch building in Paris. France has long been seen as a preferred destination for the ill-gotten gains of wealthy personalities linked to African political leaders, particularly in the former French colonies.
The French decision “neither arbitrary nor discriminatory”
The International Court of Justice ruled in favor of France on Friday, ruling that Paris had expressed its opposition to Malabo’s designation of the property as its diplomatic representation. France’s decision was “neither arbitrary nor discriminatory,” ruled the ICJ. Equatorial Guinea already has an embassy in the French capital, according to the international tribunal. The judgment of the ICJ “also makes it possible to consider achieving the ultimate objective of the civil parties involved in this case: the restitution of these goods to the populations in the countries of origin”, reacted the NGO Transparency International. congratulating a decision “to which was suspended the confiscation of the mansion on avenue Foch”.
Already a first conviction on appeal in Paris
The Paris Court of Appeal had condemned Teodorin Obiang on February 10 to three years in prison with a suspended sentence and a 30 million euros fine and confiscations, for having fraudulently built up a considerable heritage in France. Teodorin Obiang is renowned for his taste for singer Michael Jackson-related collectibles, parties, cars, luxury costumes, as well as jewelry, yachts and the company of hip-hop stars. The 52-year-old is the eldest son of Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema who holds the record for longevity in power in Africa.
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