Mãos Livres, Omunga, Pro Bono Angola and Uyele, Angolan civil society organisations currently working with CiFAR under the ongoing Capacity Support Framework, have written an open letter to the Attorneys General of Angola and Portugal demanding clarity about the asset recovery processes related to Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola for 38 years (1979-2017).
The NGOs’ initiative followed recent news that the Angolan and Portuguese authorities are still unable to reach an agreement regarding the return of Isabel dos Santos’ assets, which were seized and held in in Portugal following the Luanda Leaks scandal.
In the letter, sent on August, 5th 2024, the organisations state that the money embezzled by Isabel dos Santos must be returned to the people of Angola, thus, in the name of transparency and solidarity with the victims of corruption in Angola, all information related to the assets of Angolan citizens seized and confiscated in Portugal, as well as an updated list of those that have already been returned, should be made public.
Mãos Livres, Omunga, Pro Bono Angola and Uyele also asked for full explanation on the obstacles to the release of assets of Isabel dos Santos located in Portugal and that are under the management of Portuguese judicial authorities, in particular the amounts corresponding to her holdings in Efacec and EuroBIC:
- the real value of the Angolan state’s investment in the acquisition of Efacec in 2015 through ENDE’s stake in Winterfell Industries;
- the distribution of dividends, if any, among Efacec’s Efacec shareholders in the years 2016 to 2020;
- the real value of Winterfell Industries shares before their nationalisation in 2020;
- after the sale by the Portuguese State of Winterfell Industries shares in 2023, the amount recovered by Angola, namely through its National Asset Recovery Service;
- clarifying the legitimacy of the funds used by Isabel dos Santos to consolidate her position in EuroBIC over the years;
- the total amount paid to Isabel dos Santos by ABANCA for her shares in EuroBIC;
- the amount recovered by Angola, namely through its National Asset Recovery Service, following the sale of EuroBIC;
- in which operations were the amounts used by Isabel dos Santos after the seizure of her bank accounts was lifted by the Angolan courts?
- whether there any ongoing investigations into the role of Portuguese consultancy firms facilitating alleged money laundering schemes laundering schemes through EuroBIC? If so, what is the status of these cases?
CiFAR will continue to support civil society and policy makers to understand the key challenges and reform needed in the Angolan asset recovery framework, to strengthen dialogue between CSOs and key institutions, but also to tackle the structural forms of endemic corruption in the country, that seriously undermine the recovery of stolen assets.