Gambiaj.com – (MALABO, Equatorial Guinea) – A nephew of Equatorial Guinea’s long-serving President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has been sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement, in a case that has gripped the nation with scandal and intrigue.

Baltasar Ebang Engonga, widely known by his nickname “Bello,” once headed the country’s National Financial Investigation Agency. A court ruled that he had diverted large sums of money for personal use, including deposits into secret accounts in the Cayman Islands.

Engonga, married and famed for his good looks, shot to notoriety last year after leaked sex tapes surfaced online showing him with multiple women, including wives and relatives of influential figures close to the ruling elite.

The videos began circulating shortly after his arrest in October, when security forces seized his phones and computers.

Though their authenticity was never independently verified, suspicions mounted that the leak originated from within the security services, possibly to tarnish his reputation and extinguish his political ambitions.

His downfall has been interpreted by many as part of a high-stakes power struggle in the oil-rich Central African state. President Obiang, the world’s longest-serving head of state since seizing power in 1979, has positioned his son, Vice-President Teodoro Obiang Mangue, as his heir apparent—closing the door on other potential contenders like Engonga.

Alongside Engonga, five other officials were convicted for falsely claiming hefty sums as travel allowances, ranging from $9,000 to $220,000. The court not only imposed an eight-year prison term on Engonga but also ordered him to pay a $220,000 fine, according to the Supreme Court’s press director Hilario Mitogo, who shared the ruling in a WhatsApp message to journalists.

Once an investigator of money laundering and financial crimes, Engonga now faces life behind bars at Malabo’s notorious Black Beach prison—once a symbol of his own power, now the site of his spectacular fall from grace.