Jose Filomeno dos Santos led oil-rich Angola’s sovereign wealth fund during his father’s rule.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Angola’s Supreme Court  handed a five-year jail sentence to Jose Filomeno dos Santos, the son of the oil-rich country’s former president, for embezzlement of public funds and fraud when he headed the national sovereign wealth fund.  Dos Santos was accused of trying to embezzle up to $1.5 bn from the sovereign wealth fund, which he oversaw from 2013 to 2018.  Three co-defendants, including the former governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), Valter Filipe da Silva, were sentenced to between four and six years in prison for fraud, embezzlement and influence peddling.  In 2017,  João Lourenço became Angola’s first new president in nearly 40 years.  Lourenco  succeeded  José Eduardo dos Santos, who was in charge of the oil-rich  south-central nation since 1979.  Since becoming president, Lourenco has initiated bold reforms in the economy and the justice system aimed at rooting out corruption.

Jose Filomeno dos Santos Sister Isabel dos Santos Investigated in $1 Billion Corruption Probe 

In January 2020,  the Angolan government of  President  Lourenço ordered the assets and banks account of Isabel dos Santos to be frozen.  Dos Santos, the daughter of former Angola president José Eduardo dos Santos, was crowned the richest woman in Africa. (Forbes reports she’s estimated to have a fortune of $2.2 billion.  Angola is seeking to reclaim $1 billion that Isabel dos Santos and her associates allegedly owe  as part of an anti-corruption drive launched by her father’s successor has targeted the former first family’s assets. 

Isabel dos Santos Denied Any Wrongdoing – Claims She Is Being Targeted For Political Reasons

The billionaire daughter of Angola’s ex-president has said  she would consider running for president in the next election in 2022.   Dos Santos has denied the allegations, describing them as a “very concentrated, orchestrated and well-co-ordinated political attack, ahead of elections in Angola next year”. -the BBC.