A court decision in Equatorial Guinea on Monday froze the assets of three Brazilian contractors, complying with a petition by the African government in order to pay for alleged losses suffered by Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue during a trip to Brazil.
Mr. Nguema, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has visited Brazil several times. Back in 2018, Federal Revenue and Federal Police agents seized over USD 1.4 million in cash and about 20 watches worth around USD 15 million with members of his delegation. The plane belonged to the Equatorial Guinea government, and Mr. Nguema was on the flight. The seized bags were not protected under diplomatic pouch rules. Police authorities in Brazil are currently investigating whether or not members of the delegation engaged in money laundering.
According to the court decision, the assets frozen amount to 80 billion Central African CFA francs (USD 133 million). The Central African franc (XAF) is used by six countries, including Equatorial Guinea.
Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement to the press that it “is following with concern” the measures adopted by Equatorial Guinea and highlighted that the frozen assets do not belong to the Brazilian state.
Vice-President Nguema admitted on Twitter that the measure was a “retaliation.” He argued that Brazilian officials “inflicted all the international protocols on the treatment of high authorities,” and “did not want to admit their mistake.” He added that he hoped “Equatorial Guinea’s decision will be a lesson so that, in the future, [Brazil] will measure the consequences of its actions.”
Construction firm OAS, one of the companies targeted in the judicial decision, was a major focus of the Car Wash investigations. It has since broken up into two companies, Metha and Coesa, and no longer uses the OAS brand. The Brazilian Report could not immediately reach the press offices of the companies for comment.
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