A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a former senior government official, to eight years in prison for embezzlement.
The ruling, delivered by the Bioko provincial tribunal, also imposed a fine of $220,000 on the former head of the national financial investigation agency after he was found guilty of diverting funds meant for official travel expenses to personal use.
Confirming the judgment, Hilario Mitogo, press director of the Supreme Court, said Engonga was convicted alongside five other senior officials who were accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds.
Engonga, who gained notoriety last year after sex tapes featuring him and several women leaked online, was detained in November while investigations into the corruption charges were still underway. The scandal also implicated spouses of other government officials, sparking outrage and calls for accountability in the oil-rich Central African nation.
The high-profile conviction is seen as part of a broader effort by the authorities to clamp down on corruption in public service, though critics argue that selective prosecution remains a concern.
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