Editing Mark Thatcher (section)

==2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt==
{{main|2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt}}
Thatcher was arrested at his home in [[Constantia, Cape Town]], South Africa, in August 2004 and was charged with contravening two sections of South Africa's Foreign Military Assistance Act, which bans South African residents from taking part in any foreign military activity. The charges related to possible funding and logistical assistance in relation to an attempted [[2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt|coup in Equatorial Guinea]] organized by Thatcher's friend, [[Simon Mann]]. He was released on 2&nbsp;million rand [[bail]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/aug/25/southafrica.politics|title=Mark Thatcher denies coup charges|work=The Guardian|date=25 August 2004|first1=Matthew|last1=Tempest|first2=Simon|last2=Jeffery}}</ref>

On 24 November 2004, the Cape Town [[High Court of South Africa|High Court]] upheld a [[subpoena]] from the South African Justice Ministry that required him to answer under oath questions from [[Equatorial Guinea]]n authorities regarding the alleged coup attempt. He was due to face questioning on 25 November 2004, regarding offences under the South African Foreign Military Assistance Act; these proceedings were later postponed until 8 April 2005. Ultimately, following a process of [[plea bargain]]ing, Thatcher pleaded guilty in January 2005 to breaking anti-mercenary legislation in South Africa by investing in an aircraft without taking proper investigations into what it would be used for, admitting in court that he had paid the money, but said he was under the impression it was to be invested in an air ambulance service to help impoverished Africans. The judge rejected this explanation and Thatcher was fined [[South African rand|R]]3,000,000 and received a four-year [[suspended prison sentence]]. An advisor to Equatorial Guinea's President [[Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo]] told the [[Focus on Africa (TV programme)|BBC's ''Focus on Africa'' television programme]] that: "We are confident that justice has been done", and did not indicate that the country would seek Thatcher's extradition.<ref name="guilty plea">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4169557.stm|title=Thatcher fined over 'coup plot' |date=13 January 2005|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

During his trial in Equatorial Guinea in June 2008 Simon Mann said that Thatcher "was not just an investor, he came completely on board and became a part of the management team" of the coup plot.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/18/equatorialguinea.southafrica|title=Thatcher was integral to coup plot, Mann tells court|work=The Guardian|first=David|last=Pallister|date=18 June 2008|access-date=18 June 2008}}</ref> In 2024, Mann provided ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' with access to emails and unpublished memoirs providing additional information. On the 20th anniversary of the coup attempt, the newspaper published an article on the coup which states the emails "show that Sir Mark negotiated a profit-sharing arrangement".<ref name=telegraph-20240307>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/07/thatcher-son-involvement-in-wonga-coup-guinea-mann/ |title=The unseen memoirs that reveal Mark Thatcher's true involvement in the 'Wonga coup' |last1=Hollingsworth |first1=Mark |last2=Rayner |first2=Gordon |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url-access=subscription |date=7 March 2024 |access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref>