A Spanish court has upheld the decision of the Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) that the government of Equatorial Guinea must repay XAF45.8 billion (USD74.6 million) to a jailed businessman, putting in jeopardy a B777-200(LR) owned by CEIBA Intercontinental (C2, Malabo), reports El Pais.
The debt stems from a venture in 2000 by Cameroonian millionaire and former managing director of Cameroon Airlines (Douala) Yves-Michel Fotso to establish a new bank in Equatorial Guinea. The government of Equatorial Guinea withdrew its approval of the venture, and Fotso sued for damages. An OHADA tribunal found in favour of Fotso, and he has been seeking to recover the debt by targeting Equatoguinean assets abroad.
So far, Fotso has not been successful. A French court in 2015 found that CEIBA, the state-owned carrier of Equatorial Guinea, can not be held responsible for state debts, and released a B777-200(LR) 3C-MAB (msn 60116) which had been impounded in Switzerland. Moreover, the government of Equatorial Guinea rejects the complaint, saying that the debt was paid in full in 2012 and 2013. Fotso was sentenced in 2010 to two life sentences for embezzling public money during his tenure at Cameroon Airlines but has persisted in the recovery of the monies.
In this latest case, Spanish courts have found in favour of Fotso, allowing the B777 in question to be detained if it arrives on Spanish soil. Despite appearing on the EU Air Safety List, CEIBA has managed to operate a 4x weekly Malabo – Madrid Barajas service by re-registering its B777-200(LR) under Portuguese charter operator White (WI, Lisbon). In response to the Spanish decision, CEIBA has avoided deploying its B777 on the Madrid route, using smaller aircraft or leasing other planes from White and from Privilege Style (P6, Palma de Mallorca).
