KIM KARDASH
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- Sep 21, 2011
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[h=1]US accuses dictator's son of looting $100m from Equatorial Guinea[/h]US moves to seize assets worth $70m, including Gulfstream jet, Malibu mansion, Ferrari and Michael Jackson memorabilia
A young girl leans out of the doorway of a slum home in Equatorial Guinea, where one in five children dies under the age of five. Photograph: Christine Nesbitt/AP
The playboy son of an African dictator is accused by the United States of looting more than $100m (£63m) from his impoverished country to go shopping for a Malibu mansion, a Gulfstream jet and the late Michael Jackson's white, crystal-covered glove.
Teodorin Obiang, the eldest son of Teodoro Obiang, the autocratic president of Equatorial Guinea, is the target of a US government court action to seize nearly $71m worth of assets allegedly siphoned off through corruption.
The US justice department claims that Teodorin plundered the tiny west African's country's natural resources to buy a $1.8m treasure trove of Jackson memorabilia, some without his name being used, between June 2010 and June this year.
He lavished $275,000 on one of Jackson's white, crystal-covered gloves used during the singer's Bad tour, and $80,000 on a pair of crystal-covered socks, according to the asset forfeiture complaint. He is also said to have collected clothing, awards, autographed music sheets and a basketball signed by Jackson and the former basketball player Michael Jordan.
The extravagance stands in stark contrast to the plight of Equatorial Guinea where, despite huge oil wealth, seven in 10 people live below the poverty line and one in five children dies before their fifth birthday.
Teodorin, who is in his early 40s, serves as a minister of forestry and agriculture, earning about $6,800 a month, and is reputedly being groomed to succeed his father, who has been widely accused of human rights abuses since coming to power in a coup 32 years ago.
Human rights activists described the spending on Jackson collectables as bizarre. Tutu Alicante, the executive director of EG Justice, said: "We have known of his obsession with music, and particularly the Jacksons, for a long time. It shows the eccentricities. He's more concerned about Michael Jackson than improving the lives of the ordinary people of Equatorial Guinea. It's the mind of a megalomaniac."
The US justice department filed forfeiture complaints in Los Angeles and Washington for a $38.5m Gulfstream V jet, a $30m mansion in the Californian seaside town of Malibu, a 2011 Ferrari worth more than $530,000 and the Jackson memorabilia worth $1.8m.
Equatorial Guinea's natural resources, including oil, gas and timber, are allegedly being used in a variety of schemes to line the pockets of the president, his son and their close confidants, the justice department claims.
The alleged corruption runs the gamut of bribery and money-laundering schemes, and includes demanding fees before signing logging concessions to companies, according to the complaint. In another alleged scheme, Teodorin ran a programme in which companies working in Equatorial Guinea made contributions to provide metal roofs to homes for the poor, but instead he and others took the money. Companies that refused to donate faced retaliation, the US authorities said.
When Teodorin went to the US in 1991 to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, he lived in the luxury Beverly Wilshire hotel and a house in the upscale town, the complaint said. His expenses were paid for by a US oil company operating in his country.
Lanny Breuer, head of the justice department's criminal division, said: "We are sending the message loud and clear. The United States will not be a hiding place for the ill-gotten riches of the world's corrupt leaders."
Teodorin appears to be increasingly boxed in by international courts. Late last year, he moved his luxury car and motorcycle collection, worth an estimated $10m, from Los Angeles to France. French authorities, however, seized 11 of the vehicles last month.
He also moved two yachts from California back to Equatorial Guinea last year, a court filing said.
The US move was welcomed by the campaign group Global Witness which has spent years investigating Teodorin's assets and revealed his ownership of the house in Malibu.
"By taking action to seize this house, the US is finally starting to send a strong message that it does not want to be a safe haven for ill-gotten loot and vast, unexplained wealth," said Robert Palmer of Global Witness. "This should keep suspected kleptocrats with assets in the US awake at night."
Global Witness also reported earlier this year that Teodorin had commissioned plans to build a superyacht costing $380m nearly three times what the country spends on health and education annually. After an outcry he decided not to go ahead with the project.
A Washington-based spokesman for Equatorial Guinea and Teodorin said they had tried to offer US officials evidence "that there has been no wrongdoing", but were rebuffed.
"We intend to carefully review the allegations of this complaint now that we finally have access to it," said Matt Lauer of Qorvis Communications. "We look forward to meeting with representatives of the department of justice to provide information that we hope will resolve the issues presented."
The playboy son of an African dictator is accused by the United States of looting more than $100m (£63m) from his impoverished country to go shopping for a Malibu mansion, a Gulfstream jet and the late Michael Jackson's white, crystal-covered glove.
Teodorin Obiang, the eldest son of Teodoro Obiang, the autocratic president of Equatorial Guinea, is the target of a US government court action to seize nearly $71m worth of assets allegedly siphoned off through corruption.
The US justice department claims that Teodorin plundered the tiny west African's country's natural resources to buy a $1.8m treasure trove of Jackson memorabilia, some without his name being used, between June 2010 and June this year.
He lavished $275,000 on one of Jackson's white, crystal-covered gloves used during the singer's Bad tour, and $80,000 on a pair of crystal-covered socks, according to the asset forfeiture complaint. He is also said to have collected clothing, awards, autographed music sheets and a basketball signed by Jackson and the former basketball player Michael Jordan.
The extravagance stands in stark contrast to the plight of Equatorial Guinea where, despite huge oil wealth, seven in 10 people live below the poverty line and one in five children dies before their fifth birthday.
Teodorin, who is in his early 40s, serves as a minister of forestry and agriculture, earning about $6,800 a month, and is reputedly being groomed to succeed his father, who has been widely accused of human rights abuses since coming to power in a coup 32 years ago.
Human rights activists described the spending on Jackson collectables as bizarre. Tutu Alicante, the executive director of EG Justice, said: "We have known of his obsession with music, and particularly the Jacksons, for a long time. It shows the eccentricities. He's more concerned about Michael Jackson than improving the lives of the ordinary people of Equatorial Guinea. It's the mind of a megalomaniac."
The US justice department filed forfeiture complaints in Los Angeles and Washington for a $38.5m Gulfstream V jet, a $30m mansion in the Californian seaside town of Malibu, a 2011 Ferrari worth more than $530,000 and the Jackson memorabilia worth $1.8m.
Equatorial Guinea's natural resources, including oil, gas and timber, are allegedly being used in a variety of schemes to line the pockets of the president, his son and their close confidants, the justice department claims.
The alleged corruption runs the gamut of bribery and money-laundering schemes, and includes demanding fees before signing logging concessions to companies, according to the complaint. In another alleged scheme, Teodorin ran a programme in which companies working in Equatorial Guinea made contributions to provide metal roofs to homes for the poor, but instead he and others took the money. Companies that refused to donate faced retaliation, the US authorities said.
When Teodorin went to the US in 1991 to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, he lived in the luxury Beverly Wilshire hotel and a house in the upscale town, the complaint said. His expenses were paid for by a US oil company operating in his country.
Lanny Breuer, head of the justice department's criminal division, said: "We are sending the message loud and clear. The United States will not be a hiding place for the ill-gotten riches of the world's corrupt leaders."
Teodorin appears to be increasingly boxed in by international courts. Late last year, he moved his luxury car and motorcycle collection, worth an estimated $10m, from Los Angeles to France. French authorities, however, seized 11 of the vehicles last month.
He also moved two yachts from California back to Equatorial Guinea last year, a court filing said.
The US move was welcomed by the campaign group Global Witness which has spent years investigating Teodorin's assets and revealed his ownership of the house in Malibu.
"By taking action to seize this house, the US is finally starting to send a strong message that it does not want to be a safe haven for ill-gotten loot and vast, unexplained wealth," said Robert Palmer of Global Witness. "This should keep suspected kleptocrats with assets in the US awake at night."
Global Witness also reported earlier this year that Teodorin had commissioned plans to build a superyacht costing $380m nearly three times what the country spends on health and education annually. After an outcry he decided not to go ahead with the project.
A Washington-based spokesman for Equatorial Guinea and Teodorin said they had tried to offer US officials evidence "that there has been no wrongdoing", but were rebuffed.
"We intend to carefully review the allegations of this complaint now that we finally have access to it," said Matt Lauer of Qorvis Communications. "We look forward to meeting with representatives of the department of justice to provide information that we hope will resolve the issues presented."
