Isabel dos Santos formally accused of fraud

Prosecutors in Angola have formally accused Isabel dos Santos of embezzlement. An international arrest warrant will be issued for for Ms dos Santos and five others if they do not return to the country and present themselves to the authorities. 

Attorney General Helder Pitta Gros said the allegations relate to Dos Santos’ time as chair of Angolan state oil firm Sonangol. 

He told a news conference on Wednesday evening that she was charged with “money laundering, influence peddling, harmful management … [and] forgery of documents, among other economic crimes”. 

Ms dos Santos was appointed head of Sonangol in June 2016 by her father, Jose Eduaro dos Santos, who was president of Angola at the time. She was dismissed in 2017 by his successor, Joao Lourenço.

Ms dos Santos has denied allegations of corruption, which surfaced after 700,000 documents were leaked to news organisations on Sunday. The documents show how Ms dos Santos was able to gain access to lucrative land, oil, diamond and telecoms deals while her father was president.

Ms dos Santos has an estimated fortune of $2.1bn, making her Africa’s richest woman. She currently lives in the UK but told the BBC she was considering returning to Angola to run for president. 

The leaked documents also detailed how Western firms helped to funnel Ms dos Santos’ money out of Angola. This week, a top executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers left the firm over its links to Ms dos Santos. Portuguese bank EuroBic also announced it would be ending its business relationship with the billionaire.

Photo credit: FR24 News