Thatcher Pleads Guilty in South Africa to Equatorial Guinea Coup Plot

On January 13, 2005, Sir Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, pleaded guilty to a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea in a Cape Town Court in South Africa. In particular, Mr. Thatcher pleaded guilty to helping finance mercenaries who participated in the failed coup. The plea agreement spared him a potential prison sentence. Sir Mark has taken the position that his role was unwitting and that he believed he was investing $275,000 in a helicopter service for a mining venture until he started to doubt the project’s true goals in January 2004...