Honestly, you can’t make this stuff up. The former Director General of Equatorial Guinea’s National Agency for Financial Investigation, Baltasar Engonga Ebang, the man who was supposed to fight financial crimes, has just been sentenced to 18 years in prison for embezzling more than 1 billion CFA francs of public money.
Yes, you read that right. The country’s anti-financial-crime boss turned out to be the chief thief.
And if stealing from the public wasn’t bad enough, Engonga’s name first hit the headlines not because of shady bank accounts but because of something even more outrageous: sex tapes. In late 2024, his private “collection” of more than 400 videos with over 40 women went viral across WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok and X. Some of those women were wives of senior officials, relatives, even personal staff. The craziest part? Some of those videos were filmed right inside his office at the Ministry of Finance. Imagine that.
So here’s the picture. While ordinary Equatoguineans struggle to make ends meet, this man was spending 910 million CFA francs on women, parties, and a life of excess, before heading back to the same office where he shot pornography.
When his trial began this week, prosecutors exposed everything. Embezzlement. Illicit enrichment. Abuse of power. They asked for 18 years behind bars and fines close to a billion francs. His lawyers tried to dismiss it all as “political persecution.” But the evidence was overwhelming — offshore accounts, forged contracts, suspicious transfers. The judge wasn’t convinced, and neither should anyone else be.
What makes it even worse is the hypocrisy. Engonga isn’t some random official. He is the son of Baltasar Engonga Edjo, the current Chairman of CEMAC, and he is related to President Obiang himself. For years, his family has sat at the centre of power, shielded by privilege, while the country bleeds from corruption. Now one of their golden boys has been caught red-handed, not just with stolen money, but with his pants literally down.
The government is selling this as a “turning point” in the fight against corruption. President Obiang quickly replaced him. Ministers rushed to talk about “moral values” and “privacy violations.” Promises of deeper investigations were made. But let’s be honest. How many others are doing the same thing right now, protected by their family names and connections?
Engonga’s downfall is ugly, scandalous and humiliating. But it also speaks volumes. This is not just one man losing control. It is a reflection of a system that allows people like him to rise, loot openly, and live without shame — until the evidence finally spills into the public and can no longer be hidden.
Eighteen years in prison sounds like justice. But here is the real question: is Engonga just a sacrificial lamb being offered up to calm public anger, or is this the beginning of real accountability in Equatorial Guinea?
Because if nothing changes, then Baltasar Engonga is just one scandal among many waiting to explode.
