After a Parisian court convicted the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodorin Nguema Obiang, of laundering more than €150 million in France two years ago and authorities seized those assets, the French government faced a decision: what should it do with them? That question remains unanswered even as the Nguema's appeal trial against his conviction ended on Tuesday this week.
The conviction in absentia of Nguema, who is also the president's son, and the confiscation of his ill-gotten assets is a groundbreaking victory in the global fight against corruption. It thwarted Nguema's shameless efforts to turn his country's oil wealth into a personal fortune in France and is a catalyst in making France a key partner in holding corrupt officials accountable. Indeed, the two organizations, Transparency International France and Sherpa, which prompted French prosecutors to investigate Nguema, have initiated cases against other prominent foreign officials for money laundering, including Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of the Syrian autocrat.
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