Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
Veep’s supercar sale: A collection of 25 luxury cars seized from Equatorial Guinea’s vice president as part of a Swiss corruption probe was sold at auction this week, netting $27 million to be donated to social programs in the West African nation. The sale was the result of a deal between Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue—son of dictator President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo—and Swiss prosecutors who had been investigating him for money laundering and misappropriation of public assets. During Obiang Sr.’s 40-year rule, his family is believed to have stolen much of the country’s oil and gas wealth. The younger Obiang has bought mansions in France and the U.S. and a museum’s worth of Michael Jackson memorabilia, including the singer’s famous crystal-studded glove. One of the cars sold at the Swiss auction was a 2014 white Lamborghini Veneno
Roadster; only nine exist.