MYSTERY FLIGHTS: Teddy Obiang Nguema

Welcome to Whale Hunting, a newsletter delving into hidden worlds of wealth and power from the team at Project Brazen. Catch up on all Project Brazen’s work here, including Spy Valley (Tribeca Film Festival "Official Selection 2023"), our Gateway podcast about Europe's drug wars and The Closer, all about how deals change the world.

Hello, welcome back to Mystery Flights. 

This week, I’ve been tracking the flights from Equatorial Guinea, a tiny oil-rich West African state, which has been flying all over the place — from Tunisia to Egypt to South Africa. The jets often fly to Geneva, Switzerland. 

But it’s way more than planes — it's also cars and yachts. Teodorin “Teddy” Obiang Nguema, the president’s son — and coincidentally the vice president — lives an extremely extravagant lifestyle. The family has run, and looted, the nation since 1979. It’s said to be one of the most corrupt regimes on the planet. The former Spanish colony became wealthy in the 1990s after oil was discovered — but only its leaders, who live in its capital city located on an island off the coast of the country, have reaped the benefits.