Dutch authorities seized the 76-meter M/Y Ebony Shine on Friday, December 2, in Makkum,the Netherlands. The yacht is reportedly owned by Teodorin Obiang Nguema,vice-president and son of Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang NguemaMbasogo.
According to Swiss magazine L’Hebdo,the yacht was seized at the request of Geneva’s public prosecutor. The Swissgovernment has reportedly been investigatng Obiang over allegations that he waslaundering money from Equatorial Guinea’s coffers. Just last month, 11 luxurycars Obiang owned were seized as part of the corruption investigation.
M/Y Ebony Shine isn’tthe only yacht owned by Equatorial Guinea. According to L’Hebdo, the other,90-meter M/Y Ice, is in Tangier,Morocco, and M/Y Ebony Shine was setfor Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, but was boarded before passing the first lock.
According to Quartz Africa, Nguemais scheduled to stand trial in Paris in January 2017.
Photo: Screenshot of a Dutch Yachting YouTube video.