A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced senior government official Baltasar Engonga to eight years in prison for embezzlement, months after he gained notoriety over leaked sex tapes involving the wives of other officials.
The Bioko provincial tribunal convicted Baltasar Ebang Engonga of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars, which were claimed as professional travel expenses but were instead diverted for personal use. Hilario Mitogo, the press director for the supreme court, confirmed the conviction to reporters.
Engonga, the married former head of the national financial investigation agency, and five other senior officials were implicated in the embezzlement scheme within the oil-rich central African nation.
Known by the nickname “Bello,” Engonga became a subject of international headlines last November after explicit sex tapes were leaked on social media while he was in detention. Some of the videos were reportedly filmed in his office at the finance ministry.
The leaked clips sparked a wave of online parodies, including songs, dances, and jokes about a fictional virility drug named “Balthazariem.”
Mitogo stated that the provincial court handed Engonga an eight-year sentence and a fine of $220,000.
