Former Spanish Police Commissioner, José Villarejo, and Delfin Mocache Massoko, who manages Equatorial Guinea’s digital newspaper, Diario Rombe, will be sued and brought to justice.
According to a Spanish government indictment, Villarejo received money and worked with Massoko to discredit African businesses and politicians, using privileged information to sell and extort customers and conduct illegal spying activities.
Over the past few years, individuals tied to Diario Rombe have been trying to extort companies and public officials, and threatened to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm on them if their demands were not met.
“These are serious offences that should no longer go unpunished. As the affairs grows, it is becoming clear that not only did José Villarejo receive $5m in exchange for working with other already disgraced individuals to discredit African companies and officials, but also kept making false public statements alleging wrongdoing from them,” said Centurion Law Group.
It added that it was a case where a corrupt police officer teamed up with unethical Equatorial Guinea blogger to “blow well past the line of aggressive advocacy, and crossing into the territory of illegal extortion and spying” in an attempt to enrich himself and his companions by extracting millions of dollars from African businesses and government officials.
“Consequently, a criminal and civil complaint is currently being pursued by Centurion Law Group on behalf of the victims. This criminal and civil complaint demonstrates the continuous commitment to unmasking malicious actors behind some of the most egregious attacks on black businesses and everyday Africans. The fight against corruption and mismanagement should be aggressive and we must work together to get results,” it added.
