Equatorial Guinea has taken France to the International Court of Justice to halt the sale of a Paris mansion.
The West African nation seeks to repossess the property, part of a legal dispute tied to a high-profile corruption case.
The mansion, located on Avenue Foch, was seized after Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of Equatorial Guinea’s president, was convicted.
Teodoro was sentenced in 2017 by a Paris court for money laundering and embezzlement, receiving a three-year suspended sentence and a €30 million ($35 million) fine.
His property in France, worth tens of millions of euros, was ordered seized, with the conviction upheld by an appeals court in 2020.
Equatorial Guinea’s lawsuit filed Thursday cites the UN Convention against Corruption to support its claim for repossession and protection of the property.
The country accuses France of ignoring its request to guarantee the mansion will not be sold before the court rules on the dispute’s merits.
Paris was asked to assure by June 27, 2025, that no actions would cause “irreparable prejudice” or worsen the conflict, but no such assurances were given.
Equatorial Guinea demands France prevent the sale, grant immediate and full access to the property, and avoid escalating the dispute further.
The court statement reports that on June 18, 2025, French judicial police entered the mansion without notice and changed several door locks.
This move, executed in the absence of occupants, has heightened tensions in an already fraught legal battle over corrupt wealth and sovereign rights.
The case highlights the complex intersection of international law, corruption, and diplomatic disputes, playing out in the shadows of Parisian grandeur.
