LUANDA, ANGOLA - Angolan prosecutors have charged businesswoman Isabel dos Santos with 12 crimes, accusing the former billionaire of causing state losses of around $219 million while she was head of state-owned oil company Sonangol.
The indictment cited financial schemes including those uncovered in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ’s) Luanda Leaks, which showed how dos Santos enriched herself through insider deals while her father was Angola’s president. She has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos has lost a legal battle in London’s High Court last year to prevent a freeze on up to £580 million ($733 million) of her assets.
Dos Santos, the daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos who ruled Angola for 38 years, is being sued by Angolan telecommunications company Unitel over loans made to a company she controlled, Unitel International Holdings (UIH), incorporated in the Netherlands.
Court documents show Unitel accused dos Santos of procuring over £365 million ($461 million) in loans at below commercial value from the company in 2012 and 2013 for UIH and her “own personal benefit,” according to the BBC.
