Thatcher to face £260,000 claim over leader coup plot

[emad]

The Independent
By Kim Sengupta
18 September 2004

Snip

In three days' time, lawyers acting for Sir Mark Thatcher will go before a court in South Africa in an attempt to save him from having to answer questions about his alleged role in a coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.

If they fail, then 24 hours later will come the latest twist in this tale of intrigue - details officially emerging of the case against Baroness Thatcher's son, which will also show to what extent he might have been implicated by his supposed fellow conspirators.

If it goes ahead, a magistrate at a court in Wynberg in Cape Province will ask Sir Mark questions on behalf of lawyers acting for President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who, it is claimed, was due to be overthrown in the plot by a group of mercenaries and replaced by an opposition leader in exile. The prize, it is alleged, was lucrative business concessions in the oil-rich central African state.

The main allegation likely to be levelled against Sir Mark, The Independent has learned, is that he was an active participant in the coup plot, providing $260,000 (£145,000) for the operation. The fund, it will be claimed, was to be used for leasing an aircraft to fly an exiled opposition leader, Severo Moto, to Equatorial Guinea from Mali.
More:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=563095