2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt assault rifles, 150 hand grenades, 10 rocket-propelled grenade launchers (and 100 RPG shells), and 75,000 rounds of ammunition. Mann said he wanted the rifles, mortars and ammunition to guard diamond mines in volatile parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was alleged that those arrested in Zimbabwe made a stopover in Harare city to buy weapons and expected to join a team in Equatorial Guinea to overthrow President Obiang. Nick du Toit, the leader of the group of arrested in Equatorial Guinea, said at his trial in Equatorial Guinea that he was recruited by Simon Mann and that he
Corruption in Equatorial Guinea with racks of merchandise for him to browse and "would close off its second-floor showroom when his girlfriends came in to shop." One girlfriend "racked up about $80,000 in purchases, including bronze and red dresses that cost nearly $7,000 apiece." In June 2005 he bought two 50-foot speedboats worth $2 million and shipped one to Hawaii so he could use it there. In 2008 "he commissioned a German company...to design a 'mega yacht' worth $380 million, nearly three times what Equatorial Guinea spends on health and education in a year. After the plan became public, Equatorial Guinea announced he would