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
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