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It never seems to end as more and more St.Kitts-Nevis Economic Citizens are turning up all over the world on the wrong side of the law. In May the  US Treasury Department issued an advisory which expressed concerns about the SKN Citizenship by Investment programme and it’s use and abuse by “Illicit Actors” which commentator Simon Black says is another term for “Terrorists” .

The French Authorities have indicted the eldest son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea on money-laundering charges . French courts issued the indictment against Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorín, who is a top official in his father’s government and considered a possible successor to his father.

The US government is also pursuing a claim against Teodorín, seeking forfeiture of more than US$70 million in assets it says he purchased with laundered funds.

The French court’s indictment arises from a case that has become known as the “biens mal acquis” (ill-gotten gains) investigation. It was prompted by a legal complaint filed in 2009 by SHERPA, a human rights group, on behalf of Transparency International France against several African leaders for allegedly using public funds to buy luxury properties and goods in France. French authorities have seized and auctioned luxury goods purchased by Teodorín and issued a Europe-wide arrest warrant for him. French authorities lifted the arrest warrant after Teodorín met with them by video-conference, AP reported.
Teodorín, a St.Kitts-Nevis Economic Citizen and a holder of a St.Kitts-Nevis Passport through his lawyer is claiming   immunity because of the high-level posts granted by his father.

Obiang, His father,  first named  Teodorín the country’s ambassador to UNESCO, based in Paris, and asserted that the appointment granted him immunity in France. Later Obiang appointed Teodorín to the post of second vice president, a position not contemplated in the constitution, and to one of 15 senate seats the president personally selects under 2011 constitutional changes.

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Teodorin owns two houses in South Africa, worth about US$20 million, a US$30 million home in Malibu, California, a US$40 million  Gulfstream Jet, a mansion in an exclusive part of Paris together with fine art and cars valued at over 300 million Euros.

In 2011, the United States Government filed a corruption charge against him, seized US$70 million of his assets, and estimated that between 2004 and 2011, he had spent US$315 million on properties and luxury goods in the US alone.

In an Op-ed by former St.Kitts-Nevis National Security Minister Attorney Dwyer Astaphan it stated that along with his St.Kitts-Nevis Passport Teodorin may have been involved in a Land deal on St.Kitts which resulted in the acquisition of some Five diplomatic passports.

Astaphan stated “Even the slightest amount of due diligence would’ve revealed that Teodorin is not a person who should get a St. Kitts & Nevis passport, far less a  diplomatic passport.”

 

Teodorin is yet another in the ever growing list of “Illicit Actors” who have gotten their hands on St.Kitts-Nevis passports which adds credence to the  US Treasury’s advisory which highlighted the abuse of the programme by nefarious characters.