Following a request by Angolan authorities, Portugal has instructed a freeze on bank accounts held in the country by Angola’s billionaire former first daughter, Isabel dos Santos. Angola had been a former Portuguese colony. Angola’s prosecutor general, Helder Pitta Gros, visited Portugal last month to enlist the aid of Portuguese authorities over the case.

Dos Santos has been accused of syphoning state funds to build a massive business empire. The “Luanda Leaks” published on the 19^th of January claim Dos Santos fraudulently amassed a fortune estimated at over $2 billion. The Luanda Leaks are a collection of 715,000 emails, charts, contracts, audits, and accounts purportedly illuminating how Dos Santos built a business empire worth that colossal amount of money. She achieved fame, and wealth, supposedly through crucial roles and investments in some of Angola’s most important industries. She has denied the accusations of theft  as “unfounded allegations and false claims.” Dos Santos says she has taken steps “to act legally” against the media outlets that published the Luanda Leaks.

After President Joao Lourenco, who had taken over from her father, dismissed Dos Santos as head of the state oil company, Sonangol, in 2017, the 46-year-old has been residing in Europe. She has been indicted by Angolan prosecutors for a multitude of high-level financial crimes, including money laundering and forging documents.

Aside from bank accounts, Dos Santos and her associates are said to have huge stakes in several Portuguese companies.

Umm Muhammad Umar 12.02.20