Prosecutors in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, are seeking an 18-year jail term and a XAF500 million Central African franc (USD850,000) fine for Ruslan Obiang Nsue, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, accused of an unauthorised aircraft sale in 2020, the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Obiang Nsue is being tried in the Malabo Court of First Instance, which postponed the case this week without providing a timeline for a verdict. He is charged with offences including abuse of power, misappropriation of public resources, and embezzlement of state funds related to the alleged unauthorised sale of ATR72-500 3C-LLI (msn 790) to Binter Canarias (NT, Gran Canaria), while he was deputy general director of national airline CEIBA Intercontinental (C2, Malabo).

The prosecutors are seeking a six years term for alleged abuse of power related to the sale (allegedly without board approval) of 3C-LLI; six years for alleged misappropriation of public assets; and six years for alleged embezzlement of public funds, specifically because EUR250,000 euros (USD279,114) from the aircraft's sale were allegedly redirected to his personal account instead of to CEIBA Intercontinental's. They are also demanding a fine of XAF491 million (USD835,500) and reimbursement of XAF82 million (USD139,500), which was half of the ATR72's sale price.

Obiang Nsue was arrested in January 2023 and placed under house arrest. This followed an investigation into the aircraft's whereabouts launched by his older half-brother, Vice President Teodoro (Teddy) Obiang Nguema Mangue, in November 2022.

According to AFP, Obiang Nsue admitted in court to his involvement in the sale but claimed to have received only a portion of the proceeds, EUR125,000 euros (USD139,000) of the EUR250,000 (USD278,000).

As reported by ch-aviation, Obiang Nsue previously stated that the aircraft was sent for maintenance to Binter in Gran Canaria in May 2016 but was never serviced due to the high cost. In 2020, he authorised its dismantling for EUR250,000 to settle debts with Spanish airport operator AENA, Binter, and other creditors, some of which had already taken legal action. He claimed that after being alerted about a possible seizure of the company's accounts, he transferred the funds to his personal account at Ibercaja Banco in Spain.

He has denied any misappropriation of funds, contending that the money was used to settle or reduce the airline's debts, and that he was under direction from the board to secure funds to revitalise the airline. Obiang Nsue has reportedly agreed to a repayment plan, beginning with a deposit of XAF40 million (USD68,000), followed by monthly payments of CFA4 million (USD6,800).