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Former British Army officer and mercenary Simon Mann, who was part of a coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea in 2004, has died of a heart attack while exercising, friends confirmed.<\/p>\n
The 72-year-old made millions of pounds from protecting businesses in conflict zones before he took part in the failed attempt to overthrow the west African nation’s ruler.<\/p>\n
Mann was sentenced to 34 years in prison on arms charges and later said he had been the “manager, not the architect” of the scheme.<\/p>\n
In 2009, the ex-SAS commando was pardoned, released and given 48 hours to leave the country.<\/p>\n
The plot had been an attempt to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema – at the time Mann and co-conspirators said the aim was to install exiled opposition leader Severo Moto.<\/p>\n
It was uncovered after police in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare impounded a plane which had flown in from South Africa.<\/p>\n
Mann and more than 60 others were arrested, amid claims they were mercenaries.<\/p>\n
They said they were providing security for a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/p>\n
Mann attended private boys’ school Eton before studying at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and then joining the Scots Guards.<\/p>\n
He became a member of the SAS – the army’s special forces unit – and rose through the ranks to become a commander.<\/p>\n
In 2011, he said the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea – which saw him arrested with fellow mercenaries after trying to load weapons onto a plane in Zimbabwe – was foiled by the CIA.<\/p>\n
After serving three years of his 34-year sentence in Zimbabwe, he was moved to Black Beach Prison in Equatorial Guinea.<\/p>\n
Speaking in 2011 about that move, he said “friends, family, and enemies” had told him “if that happens, you have had it, you’re a dead man”.<\/p>\n
After being pardoned and released, he expressed regret for what he had done, saying that “however good the money is”, the moral case “has to stack up”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n