Sara Carter – The Swiss government will be auctioning a collection of 25 supercars in September worth more than $13 million. The seized vehicles allegedly belonged to Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of the Equatorial Guinea’s president who took power through a coup in 1979. He is now facing various charges of corruption and money laundering.
The cars seized by the Geneva police were a Bugatti Veyron, four Ferraris including an Enzo and 599GTB, a Porsche 918 Spyder, a Lamborghini Veneno, a Maybach, a Koenigsegg, an Aston Martin and a McLaren P1, the Geneva prosecutor’s office said. According to media reports, the Bugatti Veyron is worth $2 million and the Swedish-made Koenigegg One is one of only seven ever produced for $2.8 million. The total value of the 11 cars has not been reported – but the value of only two of the 11 cars (Bugatti Veyron & Koenigegg One) totals $4.8 million.
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What is interesting is that, while the son of President was purchasing expensive cars in Switzerland, the Obama administration gave Equatorial Guinea $4.4 Million in Aid in 2015. Here is the chart of that donation:
According to a report from the World Bank’s Stolen Assets and Recovery Initiative. The cars were ultimately surrendered to settle the corruption case.
The Case Summary
In November 2016, Swiss authorities seized 11 luxury cars as part of criminal proceedings opened against Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s longtime leader, on suspicions of money laundering. The prosecutor’s office said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters: “The Geneva public prosecutor confirms the opening of criminal proceedings against Teodorin Obiang. The latter is accused of money laundering.” “As part of the procedure, 11 vehicles were effectively sequestered in the cargo area of Geneva airport on behalf of the prosecution.”
The cars seized by the Geneva police were a Bugatti Veyron, four Ferraris including an Enzo and 599GTB, a Porsche 918 Spyder, a Lamborghini Veneno, a Maybach, a Koenigsegg, an Aston Martin and a McLaren P1, the Geneva prosecutor’s office said. According to media reports, the Bugatti Veyron is worth $2 million and the Swedish-made Koenigegg One is one of only seven ever produced for $2.8 million. The total value of the 11 cars has not been reported – but the value of only two of the 11 cars (Bugatti Veyron & Koenigegg One) totals $4.8 million. Media reports estimate the total value to be “more than $8 million”.
Equatorial Guinea filed a legal challenge to the seizure, arguing that the cars do not belong to Obiang but to a state company and were only in Geneva for repairs. In July 2017, the Swiss Federal Court rejected the request from the government of Equatorial Guinea to release the luxury cars.