£5million in supercars seized from Paris home of president of Equatorial Guinea.

Eleven supercars worth up to £5 million
have been seized from outside an African
dictator’s Paris mansion as part of a foreign
aid money-laundering investigation.
The vehicles, which included two Bugatti
Veyrons, a Ferrari 599 GTO and a Maserati
MC12 are all registered to Teodoro Obiang
Nguema, the president of Equatorial Guinea.
Police swooped on his £15 million mansion
on the prestigious Avenue Foch, close to the
Arc de Triumphe, this morning, piling all of
the vehicles on to a car transporter. They are
all thought to be ‘ill-gotten gains’ bought so
as to hide huge amounts of cash smuggled
into France from Africa, said a police source.
He is one of numerous African heads of
state who regularly receive vast handouts in
foreign aid – including British cash via
European funding.
‘There is an on-going judicial investigation
into money laundering and other crimes
related to the receipt of foreign aid,’ the
source added. ‘These seizures have resulted
from this enquiry.’
The cars, which all appeared to be new, also
included an Aston Martin V8 600lm, Rolls-
Royce Drophead Coupe, a Porsche Carrera
GT, and a Ferrari Enzo, as well as various
Bentleys.
Obiang Nguema, who is the current
chairman of the African Union, was not
thought to be present at the time of the
seizures, though a member of his staff told
police that the cars were ‘mainly used by his
son, Teodorin Obiang'.
The Supreme Court of France has appointed
an investigating judge to conduct a judicial
inquiry into claims that Obiang Nguema has
used state funds to purchase property
include the Avenue Foch house.
Equatorial Guinea is oil rich, but poverty
remains rife and there are regular
allegations of high-level corruption,
especially by Obiang Nguema and his eldest
son, Teodorin.
All of the cars have been impounded and – if
the Obiang Nguemas are unable to get them
back – they are likely to be auctioned.
Culled from Linda Ikeji's blog Share on Tweet