Angola calls for the international capture of Isabel dos Santos, the richest woman in Africa

The world police agency Interpol issued an international arrest warrant against the Angolan billionaire and daughter of the country’s former president, Isabel dos Santos, known as the Princess of Africa, for various alleged crimes of diversion of public funds, influence peddling and money laundering. .

The Interpol warrant was issued after Angolan prosecutors from the country’s Attorney General’s Office asked the agency the “location, detention” and extradition of dos Santos.

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According to the document to which the Portuguese agency had access lusabetween 2015 and 2017, the businesswoman created financial mechanisms “with the intent to obtain illicit financial gain and to conceal suspected criminal operations”through “information on public funds of the Angolan State”, which she obtained as administrator of the state oil company Sonangol.

José dos Santos with his wife in a 2012 image. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN – AFP).

Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the former president of Angola and the richest woman in Africawas wanted for various crimes, including alleged embezzlement, fraud, influence peddling and money laundering.

She has faced corruption allegations for years, including allegations from Angola in 2020 that she and her husband had run $1 billion in state funds to companies in which they had participants during his father’s presidencyincluding the oil giant sonangol.

She denied have repeatedly acted incorrectly.

The arrest warrant mentions that the 49-year-old businesswoman It is usually found traveling between Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

“Given the news published about the international arrest warrant,” an official source of Isabel dos Santos assured that ignore instructions from Interpol and is intrigued that the businesswoman is being sought, after “almost three years of existence of such processes”, in which “it was never constituted as a defendant”.

The father of dos Santos, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, left office in 2017 after four decades in power and was succeeded by Joao Lourenço, a man who, since coming to power, has launched numerous anti-corruption campaigns against the former president’s close circle. Dos Santos died in July of this year.

Reuters Agency and DPA

Source: Elcomercio