Credit: Wikipedia Commons / Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former Angola president José Eduardo dos Santos
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES
Angola’s Supreme Court has ordered the seizure of assets worth some $1 billion held by Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the former president of the country. According to the court document as reported Tuesday by Portugal’s Lusa news agency, authorities had evidence of alleged embezzlement and money laundering and ordered the seizure of the money dos Santos holds in “all banking institutions”. The court action comes after the Internationa Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) issued a “red alert” earlier in December for authorities to locate and detain dos Santos. Interpol issued the Red Notice following a request from Angolan prosecutors. Interpol said a Red Notice request was a call to law enforcement worldwide “to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.” The Angolan assets seizure is “preventive” and includes all of dos Santos’s shares in Angolan company Embalvidro, as well as 100% of shares in Cape Verde’s telecom company Unitel T+ and Unitel STP in Sao Tome and Principe, according to Lusa. Dos Santos’s father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, died in July. He ruled Angola for almost four decades until 2017.
Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former Angola president José Eduardo dos Santos
In 2020, the Angolan government of President Joao Lourenço ordered the assets and banks account of Isabel dos Santos to be frozen. 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. She has been accused of fraud, embezzlement, influence peddling, and money laundering. The Angolan court was acting in a graft investigation looking at alleged irregularities involving state companies, including the oil giant Sonangol which Isabel dos Santos used to run, and a diamond-marketing firm, Sodiam. It is alleged that the billionaire and her allies used political connections to benefit from lucrative deals in oil, diamonds, telecommunications, banking and real estate. In 2017, José Eduardo dos Santos’ nearly 40-year grip on power ended with the election of President Lourenco, who made cleaning up past corruption a priority in his new administration of of the oil-rich, but poverty-stricken Southern African nation.
Isabel dos Santos denies the corruption charges, says they are ‘politically motivated’
The 48-year-old , nicknamed “the princess”, lives abroad, saying she moved from Angola because her life had been threatened. Ms. Dos Santos, who reportedly shuttles between London, United Arab Emirates and Portugal, has steadfastly denied the corruption charges. She maintains they are politically motivated.
