One of the cars was a 1 of 9 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster that went for $8.4 million alone.
Due to part of a Swiss money-laundering probe, a collection of 25 exotic supercars were seized from Equatorial Guinea's vice president. The large lot of rare and expensive cars crossed the Bonhams auction block on Sunday and sold for a staggering $27 million.
Having ruled Equatorial New Guinea for 40 years, the impressive collection belonged to Teodorin, the son of President Teodoro OBiang Nguema Mbasogo. Known as some of the globe's most corrupt by rights groups, prosecutors in Geneva found evidence of money laundering and embezzlement of public possessions. To finance social programs, these cars were being arranged to sell.
One notable car in the collection included this super low mileage 2014 white Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, just one of only nine versions to exist, that sold for $8.4 million alone (8.28 million Swiss francs) with commission. The Lambo had only accumulated 201 miles on the odometer. A car of this caliber can reach a top speed of 223 miles per hour.
Another car worth mentioning is a 1956 Aston Martin Lagonda that was owned by the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, the late Claude Nobs. According to the docket, this particular car carried high-scale celebrities such as The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Petula Clark, and Nina Simone. Nobs partner and heir, Thierry Amsallem, was in attendance and purchased a white 2007 Bentley Azure Decapotable with just 843 miles to carry around more performers.
Another car that sold for 1.55 million francs with all proceeds going to charity was a 2011 Aston Martin One-77 coupe. The hammer dropped down on a black 2015 Koenigsegg at 4.6 million francs, and an armored gray 1998 Rolls Royce Silver Spur in need of some TLC brought in 86,250 francs.
The cars were seized by Swiss authorities back in 2016, and among the cars was a yacht. Equatorial Guinea made an arrangement with authorities and paid 1.3 million Swiss francs to Geneva to "cover procedural costs".
This isn't the first time that the vice president of Equatorial Guinea has been in deep water. Just last year, he seized luxury watches and cash from a delegation he led where he tried to launder money from the Brazil government. In addition, he was appealed back in a Paris court in 2017 after another embezzlement case involving public money.
In this recent case, authorities from France, United States, Cayman Islands, Monaco, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the Marshall Islands all played a role.
H/T: Autoblog
