Angola prosecutors to track down Africa’s richest woman

ANKARA

Angola’s prosecutor general said Monday he will use “all possible means” to bring back Africa’s richest woman Isabel dos Santos who is embroiled in a corruption case, The Guardian reported.

Her assets were frozen by a court ruling in December saying she had benefited during her father Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ 38-year rule as president of Angola by gaining preferential state deals.

Isabel dos Santos, whose estimated worth is over $2 billion, left the country in 2018 when her father stepped down as president.

“This is a person who took advantage of her position,” the report quoted Antonio Henriques da Silva, head of the board of Aipex, Angola’s investment agency as saying about the 46-year-old billionairess.

“If the money was invested in the population, in people who do not have access to education or health in Angola, it could save lives,” he added.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) last week released documents dubbed Luanda Leaks which expose how Isabel dos Santos used her father’s position to build her empire which spans over oil, telecoms and banking industries.

The consortium with its various leaks including the Panama papers has often revealed how the rich escape legal money trails through offshore accounts.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that U.S. firms have helped Isabel dos Santos to make profits from Angola’s wealth “while lending their legitimacy”.

“Some of the world’s leading professional service firms — including the Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company and PwC — facilitated her efforts to profit from her country’s wealth while lending their legitimacy,” said the New York Times.

She has denied all charges and said she is being politically victimized.

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