Angola: Where is Isabel dos Santos' money?

Earlier this month, four of the most influential organizations advocating for human rights in Angola wrote a letter of complaint to the offices of the Attorney General in Angola and its former colonial power Portugal.

In their letter, Maos Livres, Omunga, Pro Bono Angola and Uyele expressed concern that the assets of former presidential daughter Isabel dos Santos — seized in 2020 following the so-called "Luanda Leaks" expose by the New York-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) — have still not been returned to Angola.

The ICIJ published more than 715,000 files allegedly showing conflicts of interest and nepotism within Angola's former presidential family.

The quartet suspect that Isabel dos Santos may have "transferred large sums of money owed to the Angolan state" to Dubai, where she resides, or to other tax havens.

The signatories of the letter demanded action in the case.

"For four years, we have been waiting for the stolen money to be transferred back to Angola so that it can benefit the most needy Angolans," said one of the signatories, Gulherme Neves, chairman of the human rights organization Associacao Maos Livres (Free Hands Association) in an interview with DW.

Neves does not understand what is preventing the Angolan and Portuguese authorities from transferring the seized assets back to Angola.

"We demand that both Attorney Generals publicly explain where the problem lies," Neves added.

Almost five years after the Luanda Leaks scandal, no legal proceedings have been initiated against dos Santos — despite her being accused of corruption, embezzlement and money laundering.

Did Isabel dos Santos embezzle Angolan state assets?

The 51-year-old billionaire businesswoman is the eldest child of the country's late former president, Eduardo dos Santos.

Dos Santos was once ranked by Forbes as the richest woman in Africa with a fortune estimated at around $3 billion (around €2.7 billion). However, the revelations surrounding the Luanda Leaks affair brought her house of cards crashing down in January 2020.

The documents leaked by a Portuguese hacker, provided to the ICIJ in January 2020, indicated illegal practices in Isabel dos Santos' international business dealings.

At one point, she controlled a network of more than 400 companies and shell companies in 41 countries, many of them based in tax havens such as Malta,Cyprus, Mauritius and Hong Kong.

The dos Santos family has been implicated in transfering significant funds from Angola's lucrative oil, diamond and mobile phone businesses to foreign accounts.

Isabel dos Santos' lawyers have denied any allegations of her wrongdoing.

In an exclusive interview in November 2022 she told DW: "I want to help the truth come out. The people should know that the so-called Luanda Leaks are ordered lies. It is a plot against me and my family."

However, dos Santos declined to comment about fresh allegations made by the Angolan NGOs.

Wheels of justice "turn slowly"

Shortly after the the leaked documents were published, the Angolan judiciary declared that Isabel dos Santos, her husband and a confidant had enriched themselves to the tune of more than $1 billion at the state's expense.

Additionally, dos Santos, who used to be in charge of state-run oil company Sonangol, allegedly transferred millions from the oil firm to a consulting firm in Dubai after she had been dismissed from her role by Joao Lourenco, her father's successor.

Courts in the United Kingdom, the Netherlandsand Portugal ordered the freezing of the former presidential daughter's accounts, under pressure from Angola.

A subpoena has yet to be served on her, and the authorities in Dubai have not received an extradition request from Angola. 

While there have been significant legal actions, the Angolan judiciary’s efforts to reclaim her assets abroad have been criticized as insufficient.

Angolan economist Carlos Rosado highlighted the limitations of the Angolan judicial system as a key factor contributing to the slow progress.

"Unfortunately, you can't just say, 'the thief stole and now must immediately return the stolen goods' — that's not how it works. Proper legal processes are needed. But unfortunately, the wheels of justice in our country turn very slowly."

DW requested statements from the spokespersons of the public prosecutor’s offices in Portugal and Angola. Neither responded within the deadline set by DW.

Portugal claims a share of the confiscated assets

Portuguese lawyer Rui Verde told DW that there is a legal precedent in Portugal allowing dos Santos' frozen assets to be used to settle her debts with Portuguese banks, which might help explain why the confiscated assets have not yet been transferred to Angola —  although the delay could also be attributed to other factors, such as legal disputes, the need for thorough investigations, and coordination betwen different jurisdictions.

The question still remains as to why the Angolan judiciary is not making any moves to reclaim the money.

"The Angolan Public Prosecutor's Office seems to have practically fallen asleep. If nothing happens soon, Angola risks not seeing a single penny of the confiscated funds," Verde added.

The lawyer is also surprised why Angola is not pushing for dos Santos' extradition from Dubai.

Keeping the judiciary under pressure

Eugenio de Almeida, a Portuguese-Angolan researcher at the Center for International Studies in Lisbon, believes the initiative of the Angolan NGOs to demand clarification on the whereabouts of dos Santos' frozen assets is justified.

"The question is: To what extent were these funds transferred abroad with the knowledge of the Angolan government or authorities? What did the Angolan government know?" asked de Almeida.

De Almeida believes the Isabel dos Santos case will have a "long tail," potentially involving people who still hold positions of power in Angola.

The four Angolan NGOs that wrote the letter said that the offices of the Attorney General in Angola and Portugal have not yet responded.

This article was originally published in German. Sandra Quiala and Joao Carlos contributed reporting.