A senior government official in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement.
Vanguard reports that Engonga, who formerly headed the national financial investigation agency, was accused of diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel funds for personal use. Five other top officials were also implicated in the scheme.
The case took a sensational twist last year when several sex tapes of Engonga with the wives of fellow officials surfaced online. Some of the footage was allegedly recorded inside his office at the finance ministry.
The leaked videos quickly spread across social media, inspiring memes, parody songs, and even a mock product dubbed “Balthazariem” — a fake virility drug named after him.
Following months of public scrutiny, the Bioko provincial tribunal sentenced Engonga to prison and imposed a fine of $220,000.
