Old Etonian ex-SAS man in a plot straight out of a thriller novel

The planned 2004 coup to oust Teodoro Obiang, president of Equatorial Guinea, came straight

But the key figure was Simon Mann, the Old Etonian and former SAS man who had spent years
providing private soldiers as security for African regimes, recruited to run the military
operation at a reported price of $15 million.

The plan, Mann told his trial last year, was to oust Mr Obiang, in power in the small but
oil-rich country since 1979, and replace him with a provisional president, opposition leader
Severo Moto, then in exile in Spain and believed to be more open to dealing with outside interests.

According to Mann, those on the "management board" of the plot also included Sir Mark Thatcher, son of Lady Thatcher, and Ely Calil,
a secretive Lebanese-born, London-based millionaire who was said to be the main financial
backer. Mann's nicknames for them were "Scratcher" and "Smelly".

Also involved were an unnamed London property developer and a Beirut-based colleague of Mr Calil.

According to Mann, the plot was discreetly supported by the governments of South Africa and
Spain, as well as the Pentagon and US oil firms.

Mr Calil, who has only been photographed twice since 1972, has extensive business interests in
Africa.

He said in his only interview last year that he supported Mr Moto's presidential attempt and agreed that Mann had been hired to provide security for his return. But he said there was no plan for a military coup.