6:51PM BST 26 Oct 2011
CommentTeodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue is alleged to have lived a playboy lifestyle in California where he owned a collection of 24 sports cars valued at $10 million.
Mr Obiang is the eldest son and heir apparent to Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea. He serves as a minister of forestry and agriculture in his father's government.
Seventy per cent of the tiny west African nation's 680,000 population lives below the poverty line, and tens of thousands have no access to electricity or clean water, according to the African Development Bank.
A 46-page civil complaint filed by the US government in a court in California said Teodoro Obiang earned $6,799 (£4,234) a month for his government role but engaged in "extortion, misappropriation, embezzlement, or theft of public funds" to fund his lavish life.
The US is seeking to recover $71 million in assets from Mr Obiang for "the benefit of the people of the country from which it was taken".
Mr Obiang's extraordinary catalogue of spending included a $3.2 million spree on Jackson items. He paid $275,000 for one of the late singer's white crystal-covered gloves and $80,000 on a pair of his crystal-covered socks.
He also spent $245,000 on a basketball signed by Jackson and the basketball player Michael Jordan.
In June 2006 he paid $38.5 million for his 12-acre estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California, which included a private cinema and golf course. In the same month he paid $30 million up front for a Gulfstream G-V private jet.
He also went on outlandish shopping sprees for designer clothes, spending $80,000 at Gucci and $50,00 at Dolce & Gabbana in a single month.
According to the court documents his cars included a $2 million Maserati, and two Bugatti Veyrons worth $2 million and $1.3 million.
He also owned eight Ferraris, seven Rolls Royces, five Bentleys, four Mercedes, two Lamborghinis and an Aston Martin.
In June 2005 he bought two high performance 50ft speedboats worth $2 million and had one shipped to Hawaii so he could use it on a visit there. It capsized and had to be salvaged at a cost of $400,000.
In what would have been his most lavish expense he commissioned a German company in 2008 to design a "mega yacht" worth $380 million, nearly three times what Equatorial Guinea spends on health and education in a year. After the plan became public, Equatorial Guinea announced he would not be buying it.
He also paid $6.5 million for a house in the celebrity enclave of Bel Air in Los Angeles.
Mr Obiang first moved to the United States in 1991, at the age of 23, to study English at Pepperdine University in Malibu and lived in a hotel room at the exclusive Beverly Wilshire Hotel. He dropped out after five months.
In 1998 he was appointed forestry minister in the government of his father, who took over the country in a bloody coup in 1979.
According to the US Justice Department, the country's valuable natural resources, including oil, gas and timber, were allegedly used to line the pockets of the president, his son and their close associates.
Alleged corruption included bribery and money laundering schemes, such as demanding fees from companies before signing logging concessions, or paying a tax before getting timber exports approved.
The complaint said: "During President Obiang's more than 30-year rule members of the inner circle have amassed extraordinary wealth through a variety of corrupt schemes."
It said Teodoro Obiang's spending was "inconsistent" with his salary as a government minister.
Late last year Mr Obiang moved his luxury sports car collection, along with $400,000 worth of motorcycles, from Los Angeles to France. Eleven of his vehicles were seized there last month.
His private jet is believed to be in Equatorial Guinea but US officials said they would try to seize it if it ever lands in another country.
A Washington-based spokesman for Equatorial Guinea and Mr Obiang said there had been "no wrongdoing".
He said: "We intend to carefully review the allegations of this complaint now that we finally have access to it. We look forward to meeting with representatives of the Department of Justice to provide information that we hope will resolve the issues presented."
