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A few days ago, a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on Africa’s richest woman Isabel dos Santos built her multi-billion-dollar business empire via a series of questionable deals involving Angolan state assets during her father’s 38-year rule of the resource-rich nation.
Authorities in Angola have said they will use “all possible” means to bring back Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of the country’s former president, after thousands of leaked documents revealed new allegations, she siphoned off hundreds of millions in public money.
Dubbed Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos is accused of using her father’s backing to plunder state funds from the oil-rich but impoverished southern African country and – with the help of Western consulting firms – move the money offshore.
She stopped living in Angola after her father Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country for nearly 40 years, stepped down in 2017 and was replaced by Joao Lourenco.
Isabel dos Santos, who spends her time between London and Dubai, has rejected the allegations made against her as “completely unfounded.”
Speaking on public radio on Monday, Helder Pitra Gros, Angola’s prosecutor general, said: “We will use all possible means and activate international mechanisms to bring Isabel dos Santos back to the country.”
He added: “We have asked for international support from Portugal, Dubai and other countries.”
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The remarks came after a trove of hundreds of thousands of files dubbed the “Luanda Leaks” on Sunday showed how the eldest daughter of the former president allegedly moved the vast sums into overseas assets.
Isabel dos Santos response
Isabel took to Twitter to refute the claims, launching a salvo of around 30 tweets in Portuguese and English, accusing journalists involved in the investigation of telling “lies”.
“My fortune is built on my character, my intelligence, education, capacity for work, perseverance,” she wrote.
Dos Santos was named Africa’s first female billionaire in 2013 by Forbes, which estimates her current wealth at more than $2bn.
Dos Santos is already being investigated as part of an anti-graft campaign launched by Lourenco, who has pledged to root out corruption.
Prosecutors last month froze bank accounts and holdings owned by the businesswoman and her Congolese-Danish husband Sindika Dokolo, a move dos Santos described as motivated by a groundless political vendetta.
