Angolan tycoon Isabel dos Santos, once described as “Africa’s richest woman”, criticized Britain for imposing sanctions, telling the BBC that the move was surprising because she would “not be charged with corruption in any court”. “I was not convicted of any country.”
Last month the daughter of Angola’s former president was branded a “notorious kleptocrat” by the UK government and slapped with an asset freeze and travel ban for allegedly siphoning off wealth from oil-rich Angola.
He said that the Angolan government is behind the campaign to tarnish his image.
“It’s political at the end of the day,” dos Santos, 51, told the BBC Africa Daily podcast from his base in Dubai.
“There was no inquiry, where someone came and investigated and looked at the evidence or asked me to explain. There was no due process,” he said.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lemmy announced the sanctions on dos Santos as part of his campaign to crack down on “dirty money”.
A government statement charged He “systematically abused his positions in state-owned companies to embezzle at least £350 million. [$442m]depriving Angola of resources and funding for much-needed development”.
A spokesman for Angola’s attorney general said it is not a political body and only investigates evidence of alleged crimes. They said that he is accused of many crimes and therefore he needs to defend himself.
A British Foreign Office spokesman said that under global anti-corruption sanctions regulations, Britain could “nominate any person where it has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is or has been involved in serious corruption”. . He also pointed out that anyone approved can ask for a review at any time.
The allegations against dos Santos, which she denies, were first made in 2020 when BBC Panorama reported on the leaked documents. which was shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The exposé, known as the “Luanda Leaks”, alleged that a highly dubious deal was made by a London-based company.
Dos Santos, the eldest daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos – in power from 1979 to 2017 – attended private schools in the UK during Angola’s long civil war.
After graduating as an electrical engineer from King’s College London, he took up an office job at a consultancy firm in Europe.
But in her early twenties, dos Santos decided she wanted to pursue a more entrepreneurial career back home, telling the BBC that she started by delivering crates of beer – Uber style – to restaurants and shops.
He built a huge business empire with stakes in other companies in Angola and Portugal, establishing a mobile phone company, a satellite TV operator, a commercial bank, a brewery and a cement factory.
A month before her 40th birthday, she made Forbes magazine’s richest list and was named not only Africa’s richest woman, but also the continent’s youngest billionaire.
Dos Santos told BBC Africa Daily that she never thought of herself that way but sees herself as a “foundation”.
“I am also the largest private employer in my country. I have created more than 200,000 jobs. I am one of the largest taxpayers in my country and have contributed the most to building the Angolan economy. “
In 2016, he was controversially put in charge of struggling state oil firm Sonangol. He said his appointment was challenged by critics at the time but the Supreme Court stood by it.
“I had a track record in the private sector. I have special knowledge of turning around companies… that are not doing well, to turn them around to efficiency.”
Some of the most serious corruption allegations against Sonangul since his time in charge.
Within months of her father’s resignation in 2017, she was fired by his chosen successor, President Joao Lourenco, and her assets were frozen two years later.
Angola’s former first daughter believes Lourenco, who targeted the dos Santos family as part of an anti-corruption campaign, betrayed her father: “He started blaming the past, And said that what happened before was bad.
“But he is by himself. [ruling] MPLA, he was the vice president of the party. He was the Defense Minister.
“If anything, I think he had a lot more to do with the Angolan economy and Angolan decision-making and political decision-making than most Angolans.”
Dos Santos is also angry that despite her assets being frozen in Angola five years ago, the case has yet to be heard in court – she says it would normally be within 18 months at the most. happens because it is a civil case involving Allegations of unpaid debts She says she is not facing any criminal charges.
He also alleged that the original freezing order was based on forged documents, including a passport in his name that was signed by martial arts expert Bruce Lee.
A spokesman for Angola’s attorney general said he would not discuss the details of the ongoing legal dispute in public, but said any evidence that the documents were falsified should be presented in court.
Forbes dropped her from its list of top billionaires by 2021 – dos Santos explains that the asset freeze meant she could no longer receive dividend payments and prevented her from receiving any financial support from her companies. has gone
The mother of three has also suffered personal loss in the past few years – her husband died in a diving accident and when her father passed away in 2022, She did not return to Angola to attend his funeral..
If she returns to Angola, she could face arrest – at the government’s behest, Interpol has issued a red notice, which requests someone to be “tracked down and provisionally arrested”, but it There is no international arrest warrant.
Dos Santos says that after those difficult years and more asset freezes, she now wants people to hear her side of a “complicated” story to “hopefully begin to clear up the misconceptions that exist.”
When asked if she would ever stand for the presidency, she said it was a “possibility” – echoing comments she made on the BBC four years ago.
“Look, I will always serve my country,” he said. “To lead is to serve, and I want to serve Angola, whether in politics, or in business, whether in philanthropy, or in culture.”