A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced senior government official Baltasar Ebang Engonga to eight years in prison for embezzlement, just months after he became infamous when leaked sex tapes surfaced online.
According to report obtained by The News Chronicle on Wednesday, the Bioko provincial tribunal found Engonga guilty of diverting funds he had claimed as official travel expenses and using them for personal purposes, according to Supreme Court press director Hilario Mitogo.
Engonga, who was formerly head of the national financial investigation agency, was tried alongside five other senior officials accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich Central African nation.
Nicknamed “Bello,” Engonga first drew international attention in November when sex tapes featuring him with other officials’ wives some filmed inside the finance ministry—were leaked while he was already in detention.
The scandal sparked a wave of online mockery, including parody songs, dances, and a spoof virility drug named “Balthazariem.”
The court also ordered Engonga to pay a fine of $220,000 in addition to serving his prison sentence.
