Baltasar Engonga Jailed 8 Years in Equatorial Guinea After Sex Tape Scandal

A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced senior government official Baltasar Ebang Engonga to eight years in prison for embezzlement following a high-profile sex tape scandal that drew global attention.

According to a report from Vanguard, the Bioko provincial tribunal convicted Engonga of diverting public funds meant for professional travel expenses into his personal use. The ruling was confirmed in a WhatsApp message by the Supreme Court press director, Hilario Mitogo.

Engonga, the former head of the national financial investigation agency, was accused alongside five other senior officials of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel allowances in the oil-rich Central African nation.

Nicknamed “Bello”, Engonga had earlier gained notoriety after sex tapes showing him with other officials’ wives went viral on social media. Some of the videos, reportedly filmed in his finance ministry office, were leaked in November while he was already in detention pending the embezzlement trial.

The scandal triggered a wave of parodies online, including comedic songs, dance skits, and posts about a spoof virility drug dubbed “Balthazariem.”

Mitogo confirmed that the provincial court sentenced Engonga to eight years in jail and ordered him to pay a fine of $220,000.