E Guinea lashes 'neo-colonial' France at UN top court

THE HAGUE

Equatorial Guinea hit out at France at the U.N. top court on July 15, describing its actions as "neo-colonial" in a long-running dispute over a swanky multi-million-euro Paris mansion confiscated by French authorities.

The central African nation has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue emergency orders preventing France from selling the building, seized after a court convicted Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, for corruption.

French authorities seized the property, which boasts a cinema, a hammam, as well as marble and gold water taps, after convicting Obiang under a law targeting fortunes fraudulently amassed by foreign leaders.

France's approach "may be described as paternalistic and even neo-colonial," charged Carmelo Nvono-Nca, Equatorial Guinea's ambassador to France.

"We cannot accept such disdain for our sovereignty from France... we cannot accept it," said Nvono-Nca.

In 2021, France's top appeals court gave Obiang, eldest son of the long-standing president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, a three-year suspended sentence and 30 million euros ($35 million) in fines.

France also confiscated assets, including the luxurious building near the Arc de Triomphe, which has an estimated value well above 100 million euros.

Equatorial Guinea urged the ICJ to order France to give it "immediate, complete and unhindered access" to the building.