Isabel dos Santos diverted funds from state firms, ICIJ says
INTERNATIONAL – Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman, 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, according to a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Dos Santos got access to lucrative deals involving state-owned oil company Sonangol, diamonds, land and telecommunications and funds were diverted to offshore bank accounts linked to her and her husband Sindika Dokolo, it said. The trove of emails, charts contracts and accounts were mostly obtained by the Platform to Protect Whistle-blowers in Africa and shared with the ICIJ.
Dos Santos has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing and said they are part of a politically motivated campaign. The ICIJ “is perpetrated by political agenda to neutralize Isabel dos Santos,” she said in a series of tweets on Sunday. “I build companies and enterprises, I invest and create jobs.”
Source: iol.co.za