Simon Mann On 2 November 2009 he was given "a complete pardon on humanitarian grounds" by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. He was back in England by 6 November. He lives in the New Forest. Mann's memoir, "Cry Havoc", was published in 2011, to mixed reviews. Simon Mann Simon Francis Mann (born 26 June 1952) is a former British Army officer and mercenary. He served part of a 34-year prison sentence in Equatorial Guinea for his role in a failed coup d'état in 2004, before receiving a presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds on 2 November 2009. Mann was extradited from Zimbabwe to Equatorial
Corruption in Equatorial Guinea Amerada Hess paid government officials and their relatives nearly $1 million for building leases. Of 28 properties Hess leased in Equatorial Guinea, 18 were owned by Obiang family members and persons connected to the family. Representatives for both Hess and ExxonMobil told U.S. Senate investigators that they had purchased their security services in Equatorial Guinea, at non-negotiable prices, from Sociedad Nacional de Vigilancia (Sonavi), which is owned by Obiang's brother, Armengol Ondo Nguema, and which has a monopoly on security services in the country. As of 2009, according to the U.S. State Department, most ministers in Equatorial Guinea also operate