It all began in Geneva in 2016. Swiss prosecutors launch a money-laundering investigation into Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, Vice-President and son of the President of Equatorial Guinea. They soon discovered a garage that looked more like a rolling museum than a private collection: 25 dream cars, neatly lined up, including several Ferraris, Lamborghinis and a Maserati.
Among them is a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, of which only nine have been produced worldwide, and valued in the millions. Alongside it, a Ferrari Enzo, a LaFerrari, a 599 SA Aperta... In short, a collection worthy of a billionaire with a passion for Italian cars, but financed, according to the judges, with embezzled money.
A very special auction
In September 2019, these seized cars will be auctioned by Bonhams, at the Château de Bonmont, near Geneva. The cars are offered with no reserve price: a risky gamble... but one that will pay off.
In the hall, collectors battle it out. The Veneno Roadster fetched 8.28 million Swiss francs, setting an all-time record for Lamborghini at the time. The Ferrari Enzo sold for over 3.1 million francs, the LaFerrari for over 2.1 million and the Reventón Roadster for almost 2 million. Even more "affordable" models, such as a Ferrari Testarossa or a Maserati 4200 GT, found buyers. All in all, the sale fetched 23.4 million Swiss francs (approx. €21.6 million), well above estimates.
And after the sale?
At the time, Switzerland promised that the money would somehow be returned to the people of Equatorial Guinea, a country rich in oil but where poverty remains endemic. Six years later, the promise has been kept: in September 2025, the City of Berne confirmed the return of 22.8 million Swiss francs, or just over 24 million euros. The money will be used in a health cooperation project, under international supervision, to ensure that it actually benefits citizens.
This affair is far from having discouraged the vice-president, as he regularly shares his latest supercar acquisitions on his Instagram account, including a Lamborghini Centenario and a Pagani.
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Instructive!