Equatorial Guinea: The sex tapes scandal involving VIPs' wives and sisters

Baltasar Engonga, the director general of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF), has been arrested for allegedly recording more than 400 sex tapes featuring the wives of prominent people in the country.

The scandal surfaced amid an economic fraud probe into the 54-year-old economist.

This case is particularly significant due to its sheer size and the profiles of the people involved.

Here’s all we know about it.

The scandal

The ANIF officials discovered multiple CDs that documented Baltasar Engonga’s sexual relations with prominent women, such as his brother’s wife, the president’s cousin and sister, the Director General of Police’s wife, and the spouses of over 20 ministers.

The footage, which was found in his personal office, was allegedly taken with consent and has since gone viral online, sparking a media uproar.

Engonga’s office was the site of some of the encounters; one scene purportedly showed him having intercourse next to the flag of the country.

The controversy was initially reported by local media site Ahora EG, which called it one of the most important in the nation’s modern history.

According to the report, Engonga has been involved in a sexual scandal since last October.

“Baltasar Ebang Engonga is said to have filmed these scenes with the consent of the women themselves, which exonerates him from a possible crime of violation of integrity. In the videos, he is seen having unprotected sex with several women, including those married to powerful and well-known people in the country, but also with the most “diva and influential” single women in Equatorial Guinea. Some scenes take place in hotel rooms, houses, even in the protagonist’s office at the Ministry of Finance,” the report said.

The investigation into his activities is ongoing, and there is widespread speculation that more officials may be implicated as the case develops.

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About Engonga

Nicknamed “Bello” on account of his good looks, Engonga is the son of Baltasar Engonga Edjo’o, the head of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) commission, and a nephew of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, as per The Africa Report. 

Also an economist, the 54-year-old is the Director General of ANIF, Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency.

Among his responsibilities include directing initiatives to curb financial corruption in the nation and supervising financial investigations.

“He’s one of the country’s most powerful men, entrusted by the family with control over finances and tax administration,” a Malabo insider told the outlet.

However, Engonga came under fire for making questionable transactions from public accounts in Equatorial Guinea to private accounts in the Cayman Islands. Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, popularly known as Teodorín, began looking into these public funds transfers in October.

Teodorín viewed this as a chance to bring down Engonga, who had previously been a contender to succeed his father, President Obiang.

Government’s action

In a prompt response, the government of Equatorial Guinea suspended all officials who engaged in sexual activity within ministry offices.

Vice President Teodoro Nguema denounced the acts as being against the nation’s public ethics law and code of conduct. He emphasised the importance of ethics and respect while restating the government’s “zero tolerance” approach for conduct that compromises the integrity of public service.

“Given the abuse that has been shown on social media in Equatorial Guinea in recent days, and remembering that ministries are solely and exclusively for carrying out administrative work in support of the country’s development, sexual relations in offices are prohibited,” he stated, adding, “Control mechanisms are already in place, and anyone who violates this rule again will be subject to disciplinary proceedings for indecent conduct and will be dismissed from their job.”

Although Engonga is charged with corruption, officials have pointed out that consensual sex is not illegal until coercion or violence is demonstrated.

Nzang Nguema, the nation’s attorney general, has called on victims of sexual abuse to come forward, highlighting the dangers such frequent sexual encounters have to the public’s health.

“The possibility of a contagious disease being spread through these sexual interactions makes the situation even more critical.”

Equatorial Guinea’s chief prosecutor, Anatolio Nzang Nguema, assured TVGE that if medical examinations revealed that Ebang Engonga was “infected with a sexually transmitted disease” he would be prosecuted for an offence against “public health.”

The flow of internet traffic, and in particular the downloading of images, has been severely disrupted in the country after the authorities took measures to curb the sex tapes’ spread, witnesses told AFP.

Social media is awash with speculation that more videos involving other individuals, both men and women, could be released in the next few days.

With inputs from agencies