A lawyer for Equatorial Guinea said Wednesday it was bringing France before the International Court of Justice in a bid to end a graft probe into leader Teodoro Obiang Nguema's family.

"The republic of Equatorial Guinea has referred the matter to the world's highest court in order to prohibit any interference by France in the affairs of Equatorial Guinea and to compel France to stop all prosecutions and investigations against its highest officials," lawyer Olivier Metzner told AFP.

The move follows the seizure by France in July of a Paris mansion, reportedly worth more than 100 million euros ($130 million), in connection with an investigation into the president's son, Teodorin Obiang.

French investigators in July issued an international arrest warrant for Teodorin Obiang as part of an embezzlement probe, but his lawyers have said the president's son benefits from diplomatic immunity.