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Claim: X user @Sir_Benjaminn claimed Baltasar has been sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment.
Verdict: Misleading. Baltasar is currently standing trial for criminal charges but has not been sentenced to 18 years in prison. The National Prosecutor’s Office in Equatorial Guinea only requested a total sentence of 18 years for the charges brought against him.
Full Text
In November 2024, the sexual scandal of Equatorial Guinea’s Financial Crimes boss, Baltasar Engonga, made the news. Over 300 tapes of Baltasar, the Director General of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF), with multiple women, went viral online during an investigation by the country’s security authorities for alleged fraud.
On July 2, 2025, an X user, Benjamin Effah Amponsah (@Sir_Benjaminn), claimed Baltasar had been sentenced to 18 years.
As of Thursday, July 3, 2025, the post had gained over four million views, 32,000 likes, 5,300 retweets, 5,600 bookmarks, and 1,800 replies.
One user, NKOLI (@Real_Enkay), reacting to the post, wrote, “He deserves a lifetime,” while another user, Wano P3 seam (@shehoaa), wrote, “18 years for just using what God gave him? How?”
Another user, Sammy UgoNabo (@Sire_Sammi), enquired about the sentence. He wrote, “I hope his punishment is not because of the released videos. It doesn’t seem like he videoed them without their consent. I’m curious to know the actual crime he’s doing down for.”
We found similar claims on Facebook here, here, here and here.
Because of the claim’s virality and a request for verification sent to DUBAWA, we decided to investigate.
Who is Baltasar Engonga?
Baltasar Engonga, also known as Baltasar Ebang Engonga Avomo, is a former public official of Equatorial Guinea. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea and a nephew of President Teodoro Nguema.
He previously served as the Director General of the National Agency for Financial Investigation (ANIF), which is responsible for tackling money laundering and financial crime in Equatorial Guinea. Between 2015 and 2020, he was head of the Directorate General of Insurance and Reinsurance.
In 2024, Baltasar faced legal scrutiny and public backlash and was dismissed as Director General of ANIF in November 2024. His dismissal followed allegations of professional misconduct and family and social behaviour deemed incompatible with public office.
Explicit videos involving him and different women were found on his personal computer during this investigation. These videos later leaked online.
He was subsequently arrested on corruption charges, and a large sum of money was traced to his secret accounts. He has been held at Black Beach Prison since September 2024.
He is currently standing trial for embezzling state funds, unlawful enrichment, and abuse of power during his tenure as head of the Directorate General of Insurance and Reinsurance.
Following the recent spread of Baltasar’s pictures with claims that he had been sentenced to 18 years, we conducted a reverse image search using Google Lens. Our search led to several articles, YouTube videos and social media posts that used these images.
An Instagram user, zimcelebs_official, shared on July 2, 2025, that the National Prosecutor’s Office in Equatorial Guinea has requested a total sentence of 18 years in prison against Baltasar Engonga in a high-profile corruption case currently underway in Malabo. According to this user’s post, Engonga is accused of embezzlement, illicit enrichment, and abuse of office. The prosecution seeks eight years for embezzlement, four years and five months for illicit enrichment, and six years and one day for abuse of duty.
In addition, he faces a fine of over 910 million CFA francs and a ban on holding any public office during his sentence.
Another news report by Afrikmag.com noted that the Malabo court opened a high-profile trial on Monday, June 30, 2025. The “Treasury affair” trial involves former senior officials of the General Directorate of Insurance and Reinsurance (DGAR).
The report revealed that Baltasar Engonga and six other co-defendants, including Carmelo Ndong and Florentina Iñandji, are being prosecuted for complicity in this alleged fundraising scheme.
We also found a YouTube video by Légende Igor in French. The video’s title read “lourdes peines requises pour Balthazar engonga bang, “which means “heavy sentences requested for Balthazar engonga bang.”
Part of the translated transcript of the YouTube video revealed heavy indictment against Baltazar, the former director of a public company under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance. The video noted that Baltazar was on trial Monday for alleged financial misdemeanours, and the public prosecutor has requested an 18-year prison sentence along with a fine of 910 million CFA francs and a ban from holding any public office for the duration of the sentence.
NigerianEye, the Nigeria Lawyer, and the Africa Report also reported this development.
Premium Times, Cameroon Concord, and Vanguard also reported that Baltasar, who is currently on trial for criminal charges, could receive an 18-year sentence.
We also looked up the watermark (Ochira Noticia) on the last image shared by the X user. This search led us to a Spanish news website named Ochira Noticias with the tagline “te matiene informado,” meaning “keeps you informed.”
We tried to find a report with these images on the Ochira Noticias website, but we could not find any.
Conclusion
Our findings reveal that the image the user shares is real and shows Baltasar standing trial for criminal charges. He has, however, not been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The National Prosecutor’s Office in Equatorial Guinea only requested a total sentence of 18 years in the trial that commenced on Monday, June 30, 2025. So far, judgment has not been passed.
