US attempts to seize $70m from despot's 'corrupt' son

The US government is seeking to recover more than $70 million from the son of Equatorial Guinea's president over allegations of corruption and money laundering.

US authorities believe Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, amassed more than $100 million and spent $30 million on a California mansion, $38.5 million on a Gulfstream jet and nearly $2 million in Michael Jackson memorabilia.

They filed two complaints yesterday in Washington against Nguema, a government minister in the Western African country.

"We are sending the message loud and clear: the United States will not be a hiding place for the ill-gotten riches of the world's corrupt leaders," said Assistant US Attorney General Lanny Breuer.

Despite a government salary of less than $100,000 a year, Nguema was able to pilfer millions of dollars from the extraction and sale of his country's natural resources, authorities said. His family is accused of tapping Equatorial Guinea's oil wealth.

An email message left for Purificacion Angue Ondo, Equatorial Guinea's ambassador to the US, was not immediately returned.

The US government said it will try to recover the stolen funds for "the benefit of the people of the country from which it was taken."