2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt five calls to Sir Mark Thatcher in the days after the failed coup. On 13 January 2005, Mark Thatcher, in a South African court, pleaded guilty to helping finance a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea. South African police were able to prove that Mr Thatcher had transferred about US$285,000 to the mercenaries that were to execute the operation and had met and talked frequently to them prior to the coup attempt. After pleading guilty, he was given a four-year suspended sentence and a fine of about US$560,000. Simon Mann paid $500,000 (£281,000) towards the plot, according to a list of
Fiction set in Equatorial Guinea takes place at a primate research facility based in Equatorial Guinea. The book also discusses some of the geography, history and peoples of the country. Episode 2 of the British sitcom "Yes Minister", "The Official Visit", involves the fictional developing country of Buranda in what is actually Equatorial Guinea. In the 2009 novel "Limit" by Frank Schätzing, set in 2025, the country's history (and future history) plays a significant role. The 2011 novel "The Informationist" by Taylor Stevens is a missing-person thriller that makes detailed use of Equatorial Guinea's mélange of people, economics and geography. The 2012 Spanish-language novel "Palmeras