Sex-tape scandal: Equatorial Guinea jails ex-anti-graft boss Baltasar Engonga for embezzlement

An Equatorial Guinea court has sentenced Baltasar Ebang Engonga, the former head of the country’s financial investigation agency, to eight years in prison for embezzlement.

The sentence comes months after he made global headlines over leaked sex tapes involving other officials’ wives.

The Bioko Provincial Tribunal found Engonga guilty of diverting funds meant for official travel allowances for personal use, Hilario Mitogo, director of press at the Supreme Court, said in a WhatsApp message to reporters.

Engonga, popularly known as “Bello,” and five other senior officials were accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich Central African nation.

The disgraced official shot to infamy in November when explicit videos, some recorded in his finance ministry office, surfaced online while he was in detention over the corruption case.

The clips sparked a flurry of parodies on social media, including songs, dance challenges, and jokes about a spoof virility pill called “Balthazariem.”

The court also imposed a $220,000 fine on Engonga, Mitogo said.