Equatorial Guinea Obiang Mangue, and other close relatives with powerful positions in the security forces. The tension may be rooted in a power shift arising from the dramatic increase in oil production which has occurred since 1997. In 2004 a plane load of suspected mercenaries was intercepted in Zimbabwe while allegedly on the way to overthrow Obiang. A November 2004 report named Mark Thatcher as a financial backer of the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt organized by Simon Mann. Various accounts also named the United Kingdom's MI6, the United States' CIA, and Spain as tacit supporters of the coup attempt. Nevertheless,
Corruption in Equatorial Guinea been used to buy luxury homes and chalets primarily in Madrid and the Canary Islands. Italian officials also stated that an Italian businessman who was in business with Teodorin Obiang had died in a plane crash in Equatorial Guinea that had suspicious circumstances. To counteract reporting about corruption in Equatorial Guinea, Obiang retains U.S. lobbyists and PR experts, notably Lanny Davis, former counsel to U.S. President Bill Clinton. As of 2011, Davis was earning $1 million a year from Obiang. Corruption in Equatorial Guinea Corruption in Equatorial Guinea is high by world standards and considered among the worst of any