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 Index, Equatorial Guinea received a "failing" score of 13/100, ranking 56th out of 58 countries. On "reporting practices", it received a score of 14/100, for a rank of 55th. In 2011, Freedom House put Equatorial Guinea in its "worst of the worst" category for governments that violate human rights and civil liberties, which also includes North Korea, Sudan, and Turkmenistan. In its 2014 world report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated: "Corruption, poverty, and repression continue to plague Equatorial Guinea...Vast oil revenues fund lavish lifestyles for the small elite surrounding the president, while a large proportion of the population continues to