Transparency International, which was party to the case, has estimated that the seized goods, which include a mansion in the heart of the French capital, are worth around 150 million euros.

Obiang has always denied any wrongdoing and argued that French courts had no right to rule on his assets, but the Cour de Cassation rejected his appeal.

The residence at the centre of the dispute is a luxury residence on Avenue Foch in Paris — a grand, sweeping road near the Arc de Triomphe. It has 101 rooms, a gym, a hair-dressing studio and a disco with a cinema screen.

Now that there can be no more appeals in this case, the assets are set to be put on sale under a new French law which stipulates that the money, instead of going to the French state’s coffers, should go back to Equatorial Guinea.

That could be done via local or international NGOs or France’s development aid fund.

Obiang’s father, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has ruled Equatorial Guinea since taking power in a coup in 1979, 11 years after independence from Spain.

Exploitation of the country’s oil reserves over the past few decades has greatly increased the size of its economy. More than 76% of the population, however, continue to live in poverty, according to World Bank figures.

Other cases of alleged misappropriation of funds by foreign officials are lined up in France and could potentially also end up with decisions to return money to the affected populations.

A French court has found the exiled uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Rifaat al-Assad, guilty of acquiring millions of euros worth of French property using funds diverted from the Syrian state. An appeal is still pending in that case. He has denied any wrongdoing. (Reporting by Ingrid Melander, Tangi Salaun; Editing by Alison Williams)