Supercars that were seized from the president of Equatorial Guinea’s son were auctioned off in Switzerland.
Swiss authorities confiscated the vehicles as part of their investigation into Teodorin Nguema Obiang.
He serves as Teodoro Obiang Nguema’s vice-president, who has been in power in Equatorial Guinea for 40 years.
On Sunday, 25 of Mr. Obiang’s vehicles were sold at auction at a golf club close to Geneva.
The vehicles, which included Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bentleys, and Rolls Royces, brought in about $27 million (£21.9 million; 26 million Swiss francs) in total.
$23 million will be used for social projects in Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony with a high rate of poverty, as part of a deal with prosecutors.
A 2014 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, one of the most “rare and remarkable” automobiles, sold to an unidentified buyer for $8.3 million.
British auctioneers Bonhams declared it to be a new record price for a Lamborghini sold at auction.
The 354km/h (220mph) car went under the hammer for about 50% more than its pre-sale estimate to commemorate Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary.
An Aston Martin One-77 Coupe that the auction house called a “absolute rocket ship” sold for $1.5 million.
According to Bonhams press representative Lynnie Farrant, “Cars like this would be the crown jewel of any collection, but to have them all together is really quite extraordinary.”
According to Ms. Farrant, the vehicles sparked interest from collectors all over the world, but particularly in Europe.
According to a Swiss bidder who participated in the auction, an agent in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, purchased several supercars on behalf of a collector.
The auction took place in the Swiss village of Cheserex, 30 kilometers (12 miles) from Geneva, and sold about 50 additional vehicles.
Claude Nobs, the late founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, owned a 1956 Aston Martin Lagonda, which was one of them.
Teodorin Nguema Obiang: who is he?
Mr. Obiang is regarded as his father’s apparent heir, as the president since 1979.
Before being selected as vice president in 2012, the 51-year-old served as his father’s advisor and agriculture minister.
Mr. Obiang has come under fire in international media reports for his extravagant spending patterns and playboy lifestyle.
He was referred to as “a rap music entrepreneur and bon vivant, fond of Lamborghinis and long trips to Hollywood and Rio de Janeiro” by the New York Times in a 2004 article.
Mr. Obiang was being investigated by Swiss prosecutors for money laundering and misusing public funds, but the case was closed in February of this year.
According to the prosecutors, they ended their investigation into Mr. Obiang as part of a deal to sell his cars in order to raise money for social programs in his nation.
A French court sentenced him to three years of probation in 2017 for corruption.
