Embarrassing moment playboy son of an African dictator (whose people live on £1.50 a day) has £5million in supercars seized from outside his home

Daily Mail, by Peter Allen, 30th September 2011 

Eleven supercars worth up to £5 million pounds have been seized from outside an African dictator’s Paris mansion as part of a foreign aid money-laundering investigation.

The vehicles, which included two Bugatti Veyrons, a Ferrari 599 GTO and a Maserati MC12 are all registered to Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president of Equatorial Guinea.

He is one of numerous African heads of state who regularly receive vast handouts in foreign aid – including British cash via European funding.

Away we go: Among the 11 supercars siezed were Maseratis, two
limited edition Bugatti Veyrons, Ferraris, Porsches and Rolls Royces

'Ill-gotten gains': This Maserati MC12, and the other supercars, were
seized as part of an ongoing investigation into Teodoro Obiang Nguema,
the president of Equatorial Guinea

Load her up: Two officials stand by as the Maserati is lined up to
drive aboard a lorry to take it away

Police swooped on his 15 million pounds mansion on the prestigious Avenue Foch, close to the Arc de Triumphe, this morning, piling all of the vehicles on to a car transporter.

They are all thought to be ‘ill-gotten gains’ bought so as to hide huge amounts of cash smuggled into France from Africa, said a police source.

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‘There is an on-going judicial investigation into money laundering and other crimes related to the receipt of foreign aid,’ the source added. ‘These seizures have resulted from this enquiry.’

The cars, which all appeared to be new, also included an Aston Martin V8 600lm, Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe, a Porsche Carrera GT, and a Ferrari Enzo, as well as various Bentleys.

Yellow fever: This Porsche Carrera GT worth a reported £350,000
was one of several cars repossessed

Under investigation: President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, above left,
 was not present as the cars were taken away, but a staff member told
police most of the vehicles were ‘mainly used by his son, Teodorin Obiang'

Obiang Nguema, who is the current chairman of the African Union, was not thought to be present at the time of the seizures, though a member of his staff told police that the cars were ‘mainly used by his son, Teodorin Obiang'.

The Supreme Court of France has appointed an investigating judge to conduct a judicial inquiry into claims that Obiang Nguema has used state funds to purchase property include the Avenue Foch house.

Equatorial Guinea is oil rich, but poverty remains rife and there are regular allegations of high-level corruption, especially by Obiang Nguema and his eldest son, Teodorin.

All aboard: The cars here a Maserati MC12, Rolls Royce Phantom
Coupe and an Aston Martin V8

All of the cars have been impounded and – if the Obiang Nguemas are unable to get them back – they are likely to be auctioned.

Earlier this year it emerged that billions in foreign aid was being used to fund a multi-million-pound Paris property portfolio for African dictators.

Scores of the most luxurious houses and flats in the French capital are now owned by men who regularly receive the money.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA... TINY COUNTRY, HUGE CONTRADICTIONS

• The Republic of Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest nations in Africa, with an area of around 11,000 square miles and a population of 676,000.
  It is also one of the richest nations in Africa, but the distribution of wealth is desperately uneven.
  The likes of Teodoro Obiang Nguema enjoys rude wealth, while 70 per cent of the population are living underneath the United Nations Poverty Threshold of £1.50 a day.
  The gulf between rich and poor comers from the recent discovery of large petroleum reserves. The nation's GDP per capita ranks 28th in the world, but few people benefit.

They also include Ali Bongo, President of Gabon, with at least 39 properties, and Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, who has 16.

Obiang Nguema’s six-floor period building is used by his family on shopping trips to France, while Obiang Nguema – who came to power in a bloody 1979 coup – prefers to occupy a 2,000 pounds -plus-a-night suite at the Plaza Athenee Hotel, off the Champs Elysee.

The astonishing details are in a report handed to Paris prosecutors by anti-corruption groups Transparency International and Sherpa.

They are also investigating claims that Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt – both deposed in the Arab Spring – retain numerous homes in France.

Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi is also thought to be a Gallic property owner, as is Bashar Al-Assad, accused of killing his own subjects in Syria.

The dossier’s main accusation is that foreign aid flooding into blighted African states was used to fund the extravagant lifestyles of unelected leaders.

French authorities have been accused of turning a blind eye to the scandal. Liberation newspaper highlighted President Sarkozy’s apparent inability to his give up his support for despots.

Critics say Paris prosecutors were fooled by financial 'illusionists' who hid the vast wealth. William Bourdon, barrister for the complainants had to battle against the 'judicial silence' he said.

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