Baltasar Ebang Engonga, the former Director General of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF), has officially begun his corruption trial, facing potential imprisonment exceeding 18 years after ten months in detention. This high-profile case has drawn attention both domestically and internationally due to the serious nature of the charges and the scandalous revelations surrounding Engonga.
Baltasar Engonga made headlines for his sex tapes that leaked last year. The 55-year-old was held at Black Beach prison since September 2024, after being charged with embezzlement of public funds along with several other former senior officials.
The prosecution on Monday, July 2, 2025, highlighted what they described as an elaborate scheme to illegally transfer public funds for personal use, allegedly spearheaded by Engonga in collusion with other top officials in the Directorate General of Insurance and Reinsurance (DGAR), which he headed between 2015 and 2020.
The national prosecutor has asked the court for the following sentence: 8 years in prison for embezzlement of public funds, 4 years and 5 months for illicit enrichment, and 6 years and 1 day for abuse of office. The charges also carry a proposed fine exceeding 910 million CFA francs (about 1.5 million USD) and a ban on holding public office for the duration of the sentence.
Engonga is facing those charges along with six other former senior civil servants, including Carmelo Julio Matogo Ndong, Ireneo Mangue Monsuy Afana, and Florentina Iganga Iñandji, who are also accused of misappropriation.
The trial is scheduled to last three days and is expected to continue with defense arguments. Baltasar Ebang Engonga’s lawyers condemned the trial as politically motivated and challenged the credibility of the evidence presented by the national prosecutor. The court will deliver its decision in the coming days.
