Baltasar Ebang Engonga, the former Director-General of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF), has been sentenced to 18 years in prison following a high-profile corruption trial.

The verdict, delivered on June 30, 2025, comes after Engonga was found guilty of embezzlement of public funds, illicit enrichment, and abuse of office.

The national prosecutor accused Engonga of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to siphon off public funds during his tenure as head of the Directorate General of Insurance and Reinsurance (DGAR) from 2015 to 2020, in collaboration with other senior officials.

The trial, held in a Malabo court, detailed charges including 8 years for embezzlement, 4 years and 5 months for illicit enrichment, and 6 years and 1 day for abuse of office.

Engonga’s legal team denounced the charges as politically motivated, challenging the credibility of the prosecution’s evidence, but the court upheld the sentence.

The trial has drawn significant attention, concluding a 10-month detention at the notorious Black Beach Prison, where Engonga has been held since his arrest in September 2024.

In November 2024, Engonga gained fame when over 400 explicit videos surfaced, showing him engaging in videos with multiple women, including relatives of government officials.

The videos, discovered during a fraud investigation, led to his suspension and legal proceedings for violating ethical standards.

The scandal prompted Vice-President Teodoro Obiang Mangue to announce the installation of surveillance cameras in government offices and the immediate suspension of officials engaging in such conduct.