2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt the US of backing the plot, but the Pentagon denies supporting it. US officials say it was Greg Wales who made all the approaches to them. Greg Wales, a London-based property dealer, is alleged to have raised $500,000. Equatorial Guinea official sources claim that in November 2003 , when the plot was in its early stages, an Old Etonian mercenary, Simon Mann, paid Mr Wales about $8,000. Mr Wales denies any involvement in the coup. Theresa Whelan, a member of the Bush administration in charge of African affairs at the Pentagon, twice met a London-based businessman, Greg Wales, in Washington
Corruption in Equatorial Guinea perfect shape, with the vast majority of those living there holding land titles. Despite promises from the government to relocate victims to new homes, to date no one has been compensated in any way. The 1990s saw the discovery of petroleum and natural gas in the waters off Equatorial Guinea. The "oil rush" began in 1995 when ExxonMobil began working the Zafiro field; shortly after, Hess and Marathon also began exploiting the nation's natural-gas reserves. By 2005, Equatorial Guinea was sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest oil producer, after Nigeria and Angola. Even as the oil and gas business has thrived, however, most