- Title: UK sanctions individual who spent $275,000 on Michael Jackson glove
- Date: 22nd July 2021
- Summary: MOSUL, IRAQ (FILE - JANUARY, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THEN-GOVERNOR OF IRAQ'S NINEVEH PROVINCE, NAWFAL HAMMADI AL-SULTAN
- Embargoed: 5th August 2021 15:37
- Keywords: Alex Nain Saab Moran Alvaro Enrique Pulido Vargas Equatorial Guinea Iraq Kudakwashe Regimond Tagwirei Nawfal Hammadi Al-Sultan. Teodoro Obiang Mangue Venezuela Zimbabwe vice president
- Location: BATA, EQUATORIAL GUINEA / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, AND BEVERLEY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / MOSUL, IRAQ
- City: BATA, EQUATORIAL GUINEA / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, AND BEVERLEY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / MOSUL, IRAQ
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Europe,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA004EMXB58N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: REUTERS CANNOT VERIFY THAT THE GLOVES SHOWN ARE THE SAME ONE NOW OWNED BY OBIANG
Britain on Thursday (July 22) sanctioned the son of Equatorial Guinea's president for misappropriating millions of dollars which London said was spent on luxury mansions, private jets and a $275,000 glove worn by Michael Jackson.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Teodoro Obiang Mangue, who is also vice president of Equatorial Guinea, had participated in "corrupt contracting arrangements and soliciting bribes, to fund a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with his official salary as a government minister."
The Equatorial Guinea government did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Britain said Obiang had bought a $100 million mansion in Paris, a $38 million private jet, a luxury yacht, and dozens of luxury vehicles including Ferraris, Bentleys and Aston Martins.
The foreign ministry said he also bought "a collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia including a $275,000 crystal-covered glove that Jackson wore on his "Bad" tour.
His father President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled Equatorial Guinea since taking power in a coup in 1979, eleven years after independence from Spain.
The country grew rich in the past few decades due to the exploitation of its oil reserves, but more than 76% of the population live in poverty, according to the World Bank.
Raab also announced new sanctions against four individuals involved in serious corruption - Venezuela's Alex Nain Saab Moran and Alvaro Enrique Pulido Vargas; Zimbabwe's Kudakwashe Regimond Tagwirei; and the former governor of Iraq's Nineveh province, Nawfal Hammadi Al-Sultan.
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