When an Angolan court froze the assets of Isabel dos
Santos, Africa’s richest woman it was widely seen as the strongest
signal the country’s president, Joao Lourenço’s is intent on cracking
down on ending corruption and decades of crony capitalism in the
country.
Last month,
the Angolan court froze the personal bank accounts of dos Santos, her
Congolese-born husband Sindika Dokolo and Mario da Silva, chairman of
Banco de Fomento Angola, in Angola as well as their stakes in nine
Angolan firms—Unitel, Angola’s telecommunications giant, BFA, and
smaller ventures including the Candado supermarket chain, a cinema and a
mall for owing the state over $1 billion.
Dos Santos, who has long attributed her wealth to hard work, smart investments and business savvy, dismissed the state’s actions
as a “politically motivated witch hunt.” One aimed at tarnishing her
father’s legacy and the dos Santos name. Her brother, José Filomeno dos
Santos, 42, the former chair of the Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, is
on trial for allegedly transferring $500 million out of Angola
illegally. Her half-sister, Welwitschia, was suspended from parliament for “unjust enrichment.”
Their
father, José Eduardo dos Santos, was president of the oil and
diamond-rich Angola for 38 years. Just before his last year in office,
Jose appointed Isabel head of Angola’s state-owned oil firm, Sonangol
EP. When Lourenço succeeded him in 2017, the new president fired her
from the post.
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