2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt

The only thing that happened was that the US authorities froze the Equatorial Guinea money with the Riggs Bank in USA.^[10]

Release of emails and unpublished memoirs

In 2024, Mann provided The Daily Telegraph with access to emails and unpublished memoirs providing additional information. On the 20th anniversary of the coup attempt, the newspaper published an article on the coup.^[20]

Network of support and financiers

Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet

On 25 August 2004, Mark Thatcher, the son of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher, was arrested under anti-mercenary laws in South Africa after being accused of helping to finance the coup to remove President Obiang.^[9] Crause Steyl was one of the pilots picked to fly the key planners of the coup in a chartered King 200 twin turbo prop aircraft, registered ZS-NBJ, who later turned prosecution witness in South Africa.:^[21]

Crause Steyl: "I met Mark (Thatcher) three or four times. He was a partner in the venture. He put in about $250,000. The money was wired to my company account in various installments. The helicopters cost about $600 an hour plus $5,000 each for the pilots and $10,000 a month for special insurance."^[21]

Thatcher has admitted putting money into Steyl's company, Triple A Aviation, but he has said it was to cover the cost of an air ambulance project. Steyl dismissed this explanation. "He knew what was going on," he said. "I only knew him in the context of the Equatorial Guinea business. I didn't know him before and I haven't met him since."^[21]

On 13 October 2004 in London, a lawyer for the Equatorial Guinea government said that telephone records showed four calls between the homes of one of the alleged financiers behind the plot, Ely Calil, and Lord Archer in the run-up to the coup attempt in March.^[21] Another alleged plotter, Greg Wales, also made five calls to Sir Mark Thatcher in the days after the failed coup.^[22]

On 13 January 2005, Mark Thatcher, in a South African court, pleaded guilty to helping finance a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea. South African police were able to prove that Mr Thatcher had transferred about US$285,000 to the mercenaries that were to execute the operation and had met and talked frequently to them prior to the coup attempt. After pleading guilty, he was given a four-year suspended sentence and a fine of about US$560,000.^[23]

Ely Calil

Ely Calil, the Chelsea-based Lebanese oil billionaire who was sued in London by the Government of Equatorial Guinea, is alleged to have raised another $750,000.^[2] Mr Calil's solicitor said that he did not wish to respond to the claim that he had raised money for the plotters. But he denied any knowledge of the plot. Nigel Morgan, who is said to have interviewed Calil in the aftermath, claimed Calil offered to provide information about the plot to the South African government and betray the other plotters in exchange for staving off prosecution.^[24]

David Tremain

David Tremain, a South Africa-based British businessman, is alleged to have raised $500,000. Mr Tremain is alleged to have been "fronting" for a syndicate of South African and other minor investors. Tremain denies any involvement in the coup.^[2]

Jeffrey Archer

Bank details of Simon Mann's Guernsey firm, Logo Logistics, reveal that a JH Archer made a payment of $134,000 (£74,000) into his account in the days before the failed coup attempt.^[5] Lord Archer initially issued a statement through his lawyers stating that he had "no prior knowledge" of the alleged coup and that he had not spoken to Sir Mark for "approximately 10 years".^[19][22]

In January, on the same day the plotters were meeting at Sandton in Johannesburg, Ely Calil called Lord Archer and the pair apparently spoke for 15 minutes. Other calls followed in the run-up to the coup attempt. A lawyer for the Equatorial Guinea government said in London that telephone records showed four calls between Ely Calil and Lord Archer in the run-up to the coup attempt in March.^[22]

Severo Moto

Prosecutors said Equatorial Guinea's opposition leader,

President Obiang accused 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.^[26] Greg Wales, a London-based property dealer, is alleged to have raised $500,000.^[5] Equatorial Guinea official sources claim that in November 2003 ^{wrong date?},^{[dubious – discuss]} when the plot was in its early stages, an Old Etonian mercenary, Simon Mann, paid Mr Wales about $8,000.^[26] 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 before the coup attempt. Mr Wales has been accused of being one of its organisers, but has denied any involvement. A US defence official told Newsweek magazine:

Mr Wales mentioned in passing [...] there might be some trouble brewing in Equatorial Guinea. Specifically, he had heard from some business associates of his that wealthy citizens of the country were planning to flee in case of a crisis.^[26]

UK prior knowledge

Britain was given a full outline of the coup plot, including the dates, details of arms shipments and key players, months before the coup was launched.^[10]

Until 9 November 2004, cabinet ministers had denied any prior knowledge of the attempted illegal coup.^[9][27] Jack Straw and minister for Africa Chris Mullin were, however, personally told of the plot on Friday, 30 January. After receiving news of the coup, Jack Straw ordered a change to evacuation plans for British citizens in Equatorial Guinea.^[10]

President Obiang commented on the lack of warning despite admissions of prior knowledge:

This is particularly surprising in view of the fact that a number of British citizens and residents of the UK appear to be central to the

conspiracy to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea.^[9]

Our intelligence sources say that the warship was going to arrive on the same date that the coup attempt was going to take place – 8 March.....It [the war ship] was already in our

mercenaries already in Equatorial Guinea who knew where we lived. They had plans to kill 50 people and to arrest others.^[28]

A dramatisation of the coup attempt, entitled Coup! and written by John Fortune, was broadcast by BBC Two in 2006, starring Robert Bathurst and Jared Harris.^[30]

See also

• 1979 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état
• List of coups d'état and coup attempts

References

Further reading

• Roberts, Adam (7 August 2006). The Wonga Coup: Guns, Thugs and a Ruthless Determination to Create Mayhem in an Oil-Rich Corner of Africa.
  ISBN 978-1-58648-371-5
  .
• ISBN 978-1-4000-9782-1
  . Pelton describes the inside story of the coup attempt and his efforts to get the coup plotters out of jail.
• Blaisse, Mark 'Reconstitution du complot contre la Guinée-Equatoriale. Riche, trahi et oublié.'L'Harmattan, Paris, 2012.
  ISBN 978-2-296-96042-8
  . Blaisse reconstructs the failed coup in 2004 and discovers unexpected liaisons.

• Fresh One Productions (7 December 2009). "Simon Mann's African Coup: Black Beach". Storyville. Season 2009–10. Episode 9/18. BBC. BBC Four.
• Shadow Company, Purpose Films, 2006.
• Once Upon a Coup, PBS Documentary, August 2009, Once Upon a Coup ~ Full Episode | Wide Angle | PBS