An oil baron who was accused of plotting a coup in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea has died in a freak accident at his mansion in London, the UK-based Daily Mail news site reports. A close friend said Ely Calil, 72, broke his neck, apparently after falling down the stairs at his multi-million pound property, the report said.
Calil – a UK national of Lebanese origin – was alleged to have plotted the coup in 2004 with ex-UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s son, Mark Thatcher, and former British commando and businessman Simon Mann. The coup attempt was foiled, and Mann was arrested in Zimbabwe and extradited four years later to Equatorial Guinea. In 2008, he was sentenced to 34 years in prison, although a year later he was released after being pardoned by Teodoro Obiang Nguema – the man he plotted to overthrow. The Daily Mail quoted Mann as saying the coup failed because Calil promised “many things and failed to deliver”.
He was an extraordinary guy. He was very charming, very clever but also devious and manipulative. There are a lot of stories about him.”
Credit: BBC
