Since the publication of the investigation coordinated by the ICIJ, the Angolan billionaire has been the subject of numerous
lawsuits.
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The world that billionaire Isabel dos Santos and her husband, Sindika Dokolo, had become used to
criss-crossing by private jet has suddenly shrunk. From Luanda to Monaco, from Lisbon to Washington, from Praia to
Geneva, the eldest daughter of former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos finds herself in the hot seat.
In Angola, where she has not been for two years, she is now formally accused of fraud,
embezzlement, money laundering, influence peddling, misuse of corporate assets and forgery.
Faced with rumors of dealings with the Angolan government, the public prosecutor denied "any
kind of negotiation" with Isabel dos Santos, who risks, with her Danish husband of Congolese origin,
heavy prison sentences.
Since the publication of the "Luanda Leaks", an investigation coordinated by the International Consortium of
investigative journalists (ICIJ) with 36 international media partners, including Le Monde, its empire
economy is torn apart according to revelations and judicial inquiries.
Undesirable in Portugal
In Portugal, where it established the headquarters of its financial management company, Fidequity, and where it had acquired
significant shares in large companies, Isabel dos Santos is now forced to offload
of his actions and gradually disappear. The one who wanted to be the icon of a globalized African elite and
uninhibited had set out to conquer the jewels of the industry of the former colonial power, which
could arouse fascination and a certain pride in Angola. The daughter of the kleptocratic former president
now finds herself suspected of having siphoned off the state coffers. She has become undesirable.
The richest woman in Africa thus had to resign herself to withdrawing from the capital of the engineering group and
energy company Efacec Power Solutions, which it controlled in particular through one of its companies registered in
Malta. Following the "Luanda Leaks", the regulator of the Portuguese Stock Exchange opened investigations into the
origins of the funds of Isabel dos Santos, which has significant shares in the group of
telecommunications Nos and in the oil company Galp Energia through financial arrangements
tortuous offshore. Just as for Efacec, its advisers, nominees and friends placed in positions
strategic groups of these groups were forced to resign on the spot.
A bank and a drama
More tragic, Nuno Ribeiro da Cunha, his account manager at the Portuguese bank EuroBic
(ex-BIC), in which Isabel dos Santos holds 42.5% of the shares, was found dead on January 23 at his home in
Lisbon. The Portuguese banker, who was implicated by the Angolan justice, probably committed suicide,
according to the investigation by the Portuguese authorities. Mr. Ribeiro da Cunha managed, among other things, the accounts of Esperaza,
a company controlled by Sindika Dokolo's Swiss holding company. Esperaza was used to invest
alleged Angolan public funds in Galp Energia.