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oversight findingVerified

US DOJ settles Kleptocracy case: Teodorín relinquishes more than $30 million in US assets

On 10 October 2014 the US Department of Justice announced a settlement of civil forfeiture cases against assets in the United States owned by Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, then Second Vice President of Equatorial Guinea. In the causal graph this event strengthens Obiang resource kleptocracy, a driver that weakens Having a say in government — a worsening welfare path.

Sources: [1][2]

Read the full account

On 10 October 2014 the US Department of Justice announced a settlement of civil forfeiture cases against assets in the United States owned by Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, then Second Vice President of Equatorial Guinea. Under the settlement he would sell a Malibu mansion, a Ferrari, and Michael Jackson memorabilia purchased with corruption proceeds; $20 million to a charity for Equatoguineans and $10.3 million forfeited to the United States for their benefit. DOJ’s ‘more than $300 million’ allegation is not copied as Contribution.size.

Context

Obiang is president and father. Teodorín was the named defendant. Sharing a household is not a reason to drop the settlement from this presidency’s file. It is a reason not to write that Obiang was the US defendant.

10 October 2014 DOJ; 27 October 2017 Paris. Keep dates. Keep US DOJ settles Kleptocracy case: Teodorín relinquishes more than $30 million in US assets on 2014-10-10 separate from neighbouring Obiang instruments.

The president of Equatorial Guinea is head of state and commander-in-chief. He does not sit as a Paris correctional judge, a US district-court clerk, or a Cour de cassation panel. He was not the named defendant in the US settlement or the French biens-mal-acquis judgments; his son was.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    verified

    He is president of the oil state. Teodorín was the defendant. DOJ wrote the settlement. Sharing a household is not a reason to drop the row.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactUS DOJ settles Kleptocracy case: Teodorín relinquishes more than $30 million in US assets
    2. strengthensDriverObiang resource kleptocracy
    3. weakensIndicatorHaving a say in government
    Worsening path

    impact weight 1 · Effect from 10 October 2014 · verified

    A completed 2014 DOJ Kleptocracy settlement against the vice-president son is a dated strengthening of the resource-kleptocracy driver.

    • Having a say in government

      via Obiang resource kleptocracy

      Worse

      Weakens · Relationship strength 0.85 (weight 1 × strength 0.85)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    1. FactUS DOJ settles Kleptocracy case: Teodorín relinquishes more than $30 million in US assets
    2. strengthensDriverInstitutional Corruption
    3. strengthensIndicators (3)Political corruption index
    Worsening path

    impact weight 1 · Effect from 10 October 2014 · verified

    A completed US corruption-proceeds settlement is a dated strengthening of institutional corruption.

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.World Bank StAR — Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue asset-recovery watch (US and France chapters)World Bank Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.US DOJ — Second Vice President of Equatorial Guinea agrees to relinquish more than $30 million of assets, 10 October 2014US Department of Justice · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

US Department of Justice carries the official instrument or communique. World Bank Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative records the same dated act independently.

Established: DOJ announced the 10 October 2014 settlement with named $20 million and $10.3 million pots and a Malibu mansion to be sold.

Teodorín was the defendant. DOJ wrote the settlement. Sharing a household is not a reason to drop the row.. A later repeal, court stay, or successor order would be a different Fact with a different date. That pair identifies US DOJ settles Kleptocracy case: Teodorín relinquishes more than $30 million in US assets, not a later speech about US DOJ settles Kleptocracy case: Teodorín relinquishes more than $30 million in US assets.

Co-authors and later implementers named in Context remain on the file. If a later repeal, stay, or successor instrument exists, it needs its own date and its own row. The contribution described on this Person row is limited to He is president of the oil state. Teodorín was the defendant. DOJ wrote the settlement. That limit is the alternative to treating office-holding as authorship of every later series.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorTeodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
  2. contributed toFactUS DOJ settles Kleptocracy case: Teodorín relinquishes more than $30 million in US assets
  3. strengthensDrivers (2)Obiang resource kleptocracy
  4. weakensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). US DOJ settles Kleptocracy case: Teodorín relinquishes more than $30 million in US assets. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/gq-doj-teodorin-2014

https://factrail.ai/facts/gq-doj-teodorin-2014

Accessed 15 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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