MALABO: The Director General of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) Baltasar Engonga has been arrested amid a scandal involving over 400 sex tapes featuring prominent women, including the wives of top government officials.
The footage, allegdly filmed with consent, was found in Engonga’s personal office and has sparked outrage in the country.
The scandal surfaced amid an economic fraud probe into the 54-year-old economist.
Engonga, a powerful figure and nephew of President Teodoro Obiang Nquema Mbasogo is also under investigation for corruption after suspicious transfers of public funds to private accounts in the Cayman Islands were uncovered. The scandal, first reported by local media, includes explicit videos filmed in various locations, including government offices.
The government has suspended officials involved in inappropriate conduct and warned of strict penalties for any further violations. Equatorial Guinea’s attorney general has called for medical checks, citing health rist related to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Speculation about additional videos and further implicating officials continues to grow as the investigation unfolds.
The scandal
The ANIF officials discovered multiple CDs that documented Baltasar Engonga’s sexual relations with prominent women, such as his brother’s wife, the president’s cousin and sister, the Director General of Police’s wife, and the spouses of over 20 ministers.
The footage, which was found in his personal office, was allegedly taken with consent and has since gone viral online, sparking a media uproar.
