France Illegally Seized Equatorial Guinea’s Embassy in Paris – Malabo’s lawyers

Lawyers for Equatorial Guinea told United Nations judges Monday that French authorities illegally seized the central African nation’s embassy in Paris as part of a money laundering investigation on the son of the country’s president.

On the first day of hearings, before the International Court of Justice, Malabo’s lawyers insisted the six-storey mansion at 42, Avenue Foch was a diplomatic mission and not the home of Equatorial Guinea’s vice president Teodorin Obiang.

“France has submitted my country to treatment which is totally arbitrary, discriminatory, and consequently contrary to international law,” Carmelo Nvono-Nca, who led Equatorial Guinea’s legal team, told judges as public hearings in the case got underway.

The case before the ICJ is focused on the diplomatic status of a multimillion-euro mansion on one of the French capital’s most prestigious streets, Avenue Foch.

The French foreign ministry “merely repeated the mantra that the building falls under the private domain — which is patently false,” Malabo lawyer Michael Wood added.

Obiang, 51, the son of the central African nation’s veteran leader, has been accused by the French justice system of embezzlement and the misuse of tens of millions of public funds.

He was indicted for embezzling €150 million to fund his lavish lifestyle, and was given a suspended fine of €30 million for money laundering, corruption and abuse of power.

Lawyers representing France are scheduled to present their arguments this Tuesday. Judges will likely take months to issue a ruling.