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The global hunt for the Dos Santos family assets
José Eduardo dos Santos, his wife Ana Paula dos Santos, and in the background his daughter Isabel dos Santos with her husband Sindika Dokolo in August 2012. © Paulo Novais/EPA/MaxPPP

Running story
The global hunt for the Dos Santos family assets

Following a large number of legal proceeding filed against the family of Angola's former president José Eduardo dos Santos, the government of president João Lourenço has asked a dozen countries to freeze the assets of the Dos Santos family, in particular those of the former president's daughter Isabel dos Santos. Many of these countries see this request as a golden opportunity to forge closer ties with Angola.

The global hunt for the Dos Santos family assets
José Eduardo dos Santos, his wife Ana Paula dos Santos, and in the background his daughter Isabel dos Santos with her husband Sindika Dokolo in August 2012. © Paulo Novais/EPA/MaxPPP

Angola
Sonangol: Isabel dos Santos indicted for 'defrauding Angolan state'

Angola's attorney general has accused the former head of state oil company Sonangol of a long list of crimes, ranging from embezzlement to money laundering. Her lawyers denounce the claims as a 'conspiracy'.

Isabel dos Santos in New York on 26 September 2018.
LogoSubscribers only Energy, Politics 22.01.2024
Isabel dos Santos in New York on 26 September 2018.

Spotlight | Angola, UAE
Dubai hosts secret accounts of Dos Santos clan and other wealthy Africans

Africa Intelligence can reveal the existence of companies secretly set up in the United Arab Emirates on behalf of the family of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos. The group behind these, wealth management firm Helin International, is under investigation in the United States, France, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

Isabel dos Santos (third from left, front row) at President Joao Lourenco's inauguration in 2017 alongside her (now late) husband Sindika Dokolo, her half-sister Welwitschia "Tchize" dos Santos, and her brother Eduardo Breno dos Santos.
LogoSubscribers only Finance 25.01.2023
Isabel dos Santos (third from left, front row) at President Joao Lourenco's inauguration in 2017 alongside her (now late) husband Sindika Dokolo, her half-sister Welwitschia "Tchize" dos Santos, and her brother Eduardo Breno dos Santos.

Angola
Manuel Vicente set to be big loser in general election

In September, the former Angolan number two and chief executive of Sonangol will lose the immunity he has benefitted from for the last five years and could well find himself prosecuted for corruption.

Former Angolan Vice President Manuel Vicente (photo from November 2015).
LogoSubscribers only Politics 22.08.2022
Former Angolan Vice President Manuel Vicente (photo from November 2015).

Angola
With a little help from its Lusophone friends, Luanda makes fresh bid to recover stolen assets

Recovering illicit assets lodged abroad by the dos Santos clan is one of the biggest challenges facing President Joao Lourenco, leading him to solicit support from the club of fellow Portuguese-speaking nations which meets in Luanda later this month.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 15.04.2022

Angola
Washington visa ban on Isabel dos Santos boosts Luanda's asset hunt

The Biden administration has banned Isabel dos Santos from entering the US. The ban signals US support for Angola's worldwide hunt for her assets, which allegedly come from embezzled public funds.

LogoSubscribers only Business 15.12.2021

Angola
Lourenço tainted by anti-corruption probe into top adviser dos Anjos

João Lourenço's anti-corruption record has taken another blow after one of his closest advisers, Isaac dos Anjos, was charged with misusing funds from the state-owned Sonango oil firm to build luxury property.

Angolan President João Lourenço.
LogoSubscribers only Politics 04.05.2021
Angolan President João Lourenço.

Angola
Lourenço widens global hunt for Dos Santos family assets

The UAE, Monaco, Mauritius and Singapore are no longer the only jurisdictions scanning bank accounts to track down the assets of the former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos and his family.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 28.04.2021

Angola, UAE
Abu Dhabi banks begin freezing bank accounts linked to Dos Santos family

Banks in the UAE have rushed to freeze the assets of the Dos Santos family and its associates following a request for cooperation from Angola's judiciary, just ahead of the start of Ramadan.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 15.04.2021

Angola, Mauritius
Mauritius Commercial Bank ordered to disclose its dos Santos accounts

The Mauritian Independent Commission Against Corruption has ordered the island's banks to communicate the details of the accounts opened by Isabel dos Santos, Sindika Dokolo and Konema Mwenenge.

LogoSubscribers only Politics 08.04.2021

Angola, UAE
Dos Santos probe seals MBZ-Lourenço pact

The UAE usually ignores foreign requests for judicial cooperation regarding its offshore hubs but has bent over backwards to accommodate Angola's investigations into the family of former president José Eduardo dos Santos. By doing so, the Emirates are not only forging stronger ties with Luanda but also earning money-laundering brownie points.

Isabel dos Santos is the eldest daughter of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979 to 2017.
LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 02.04.2021
Isabel dos Santos is the eldest daughter of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979 to 2017.

Spotlight | Angola
Lourenço follows dos Santos asset trail to Singapore

Angola's justice ministry has previously asked Emirati and Mauritian authorities to help it locate the assets of the dos Santos family. Now it is taking the treasure hunt all the way to Singapore. Isabel dos Santos, for her part, is fighting back in court in London.

Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos.
Free access Diplomacy 30.03.2021
Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos.

Angola
Dos Santos asset hunt, catalyst of growing Abu Dhabi-Luanda bond

The Angolan president's quiet trip to Abu Dhabi last week is the latest sign of a fast-tracked rapprochement between the UAE and Angola. But this blossoming diplomatic and economic alliance depends on the UAE's willingness to hunt down the dos Santos family's assets.

Isabel Dos Santos, daughter of Angola's former president.
LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 24.03.2021
Isabel Dos Santos, daughter of Angola's former president.

Spotlight | Africa, United States
Angolan anti-corruption probes crisscross from Luanda to New York

President Joao Lourenço came into office hellbent on stamping out corruption from the Dos Santos era but some of his own entourage are now worried the crusade could turn against them. The goal from both sides is to drawn the US Department of Justice into the arena.

LogoSubscribers only Intelligence Online 17.03.2021

Spotlight | Angola
Lourenço solicits cooperation from the Emirates, Mauritius and Monaco in battle against Dos Santos family

The Angolan Ministry of Justice is requesting help left and right to round up and potentially freeze the assets of the former president's daughter, Isabel Dos Santos.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 15.03.2021

Spotlight | Angola
Away from the courtrooms, the government and the dos Santos clan wage a secret war

Already engaged in innumerable court cases and arbitration battles, the smallest details of which are dutifully publicized by their respective PR teams, the family of ex-president dos Santos and the Angolan state are also fighting another less public, much less procedural battle.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 08.03.2021

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José Eduardo dos Santos, his wife Ana Paula dos Santos, and in the background his daughter Isabel dos Santos with her husband Sindika Dokolo in August 2012.

Running story
The global hunt for the Dos Santos family assets

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