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 of forestry. He has been sardonically called "the world's richest minister of agriculture and forestry." Through his solely owned firm Grupo Sofana and its affiliate Somagui Forestal, Teodorin owned, and may still own, "exclusive rights of exploiting and exporting timber in Equatorial Guinea." Teodorin also owns the nation's only TV station, as well as Radio Asonga, the nation's main radio station. In May 2012, he was removed from the ministry and given the title of "second vice president", a position that is not mentioned in the nation's constitution, and placed in charge of state security. The heir apparent to the