Paris — The playboy son of Equatorial Guinea’s leader, notorious for his extravagant taste in cars, homes and Michael Jackson memorabilia, went on trial on Monday in Paris charged with plundering his country’s coffers to fund his jetset lifestyle in France. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, Equatorial Guinea’s vice-president, is accused of using state money to buy a mansion on one of the swankiest avenues in Paris as well as a collection of Italian supercars and other luxury items. His lawyers sought to have the trial adjourned, saying they needed more time to prepare his defence. The trial is the first arising out of an investigation into the French assets of three African leaders accused of state looting. According to France24, since 2010 French investigating magistrates have probed the source of money spent in France by Obiang, Congo-Brazzaville's President Denis Sassou Nguesso, and Omar Bongo, the late president of Gabon. The 47-year-old Obiang is not expected to attend the trial wh...
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