Portuguese bank cuts ties with Isabel dos Santos

The Portuguese bank Eurobic has ended its business relationship with Isabel dos Santos after leaked documents emerged detailing a multitude of suspicious deals. 

Eurobic was already under investigation from the Portuguese central bank over its links to Ms dos Santos prior to the so-called Luanda Leaks earlier this week. Ms dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman and the daughter of Angola’s ex-president, currently holds a 42.5% stake in the bank via two indirect entities. 

During a board of directors meeting on Monday, the bank decided to “terminate the commercial relationship with entities controlled by the universe of the shareholder Isabel dos Santos and people closely related to it”. 

Accusations of impropriety and corruption against Ms dos Santos resurfaced this week after 700,000 documents were leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists by the Platform to Protect Whistle-Blowers in Africa. These allegations span from her role as chair of Angola’s state oil company to her stakes in the country’s largest mobile phone provider. 

Ms Dos Santos maintains that the allegations against her are entirely false. 

This morning Angola’s prosecutor general, Holder Pitra Gros, promised to use “all possible” means to bring Ms Dos Santos back to the country.

He told Angolan public radio, “We will use all possible means and activate international mechanisms to bring Isabel dos Santos back to the country... We have asked for international support from Portugal, Dubai, and other countries.”

Photo credit: Reuters | Toby Melville