Former Equatorial Guinea Anti-Graft Czar Baltasar Engonga, Jailed Eight Years For Embezzlement After Sex Tape Scandal

RYNI News | Blessing Isiuwa
29 August 2025

In the corridors of power in Equatorial Guinea, where wealth is often hidden behind oil riches and political connections, a startling scandal has reverberated across the nation’s highest echelons—and the world beyond.

Baltasar Ebang Engonga, a once-respected figure heading the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF), has now been stripped of credibility after a verdict from a Bioko provincial court sentenced him to a total of 18 years in prison for corruption-related charges—including embezzlement, unlawful enrichment, and abuse of power   .

The court’s breakdown:8 years for embezzling public funds,4 years, 5 months for illegal enrichment and 6 years and 1 day for abusing his power.

In addition to the prison sentence, Engonga has been fined over 910 million CFA francs—roughly US$1.5 million—and barred from holding any public office during his sentence  .

But corruption wasn’t the only sin the court cited. The scandal’s true audacity lies in its lurid side: during an investigation, authorities discovered more than 400 explicit videos in Engonga’s private files—filmed with high-profile women, including wives and relatives of top government officials—content that quickly spread like wildfire online    .

Described by insiders as a calculated abuse of his office, Engonga’s double life—from anti-corruption enforcer to featured actor in a sextape scandal—underscores a troubling hypocrisy. The footage was reportedly consensual, according to some accounts, but the optics were damning, with tapes featuring intimate scenes recorded in his office and leaked while he was in custody   .

As details unfolded, the government scrambled to contain damage, deploying what it called a “zero-tolerance” policy. Vice President Teodoro ‘Teodorín’ Nguema Obiang Mangue, the President’s son, condemned the behavior; he pledged to install surveillance cameras in all government offices and warned that any future misconduct within office premises would result in summary dismissal   .

The implications extend beyond the prison cell. The dramatic fallout has spotlighted not just a failing of one man, but systemic rot within a regime where political families and oil wealth forge generations of unchecked privilege. Observers suggest that the scandal may also have doubled as a calculated purge of a political contender—a glimpse into the silent power struggles within the ruling elite .

The Ministry of Justice, however, hailed the ruling as a statement of principle. “This verdict demonstrates the government’s commitment to fighting corruption,” a spokesperson declared. “No official, regardless of position, stands above the law.”

As Engonga begins serving his sentence at Black Beach Prison, the public reaction remains one of outrage and intrigue. Beyond the titillating headlines, this saga lays bare the consequences when the guardians of integrity fall prey to their darkest impulses—and the state they are sworn to protect retaliates to preserve its facade.

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