"Whoever receives money from the state and does not pay has to be subject to some decisions. If someone receives money from the state, it is to pay - either from the state or from private people," the former politician said.
The former leader of the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) reinforced: "If I ask for a loan from a bank, I have to pay. If I don't pay back, the bank will get what I did with the money I borrowed. That's normal. Be the son of... Even if you were the son of God, that's how you do it on earth."
The kind of proceedings taken on 30 December by the Justice against the daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos "could have been possible, but it wasn't", during José Eduardo dos Santos' administration, ironed out the former Prime Minister between 1975 and 1978.
However, known for being a critical voice throughout the long period of José Eduardo dos Santos in power, he made a point of underlining: "In Angola there is a new cycle. Not with António, Joaquim, or Manuel. In Angola there is a new cycle. And, therefore, what happened to her [Isabel dos Santos] will happen to others who asked the state for money and did not pay".
Asked to name personalities he was eventually thinking of, Lopo do Nascimento didn't want to respond to the suggestion.
"It's no use quoting names of people to whom things have not yet been done," he said, excusing himself equally from any ethical or moral considerations about the process: "To me it doesn't seem good or bad, it's a normal question.
On the expectations regarding possible future developments in this process, Lopo do Nascimento says he expects "nothing".
"I hope that the court will decide", he pointed.
On 30 December, the Luanda Provincial Court ordered the preventive seizure of personal bank accounts of Isabel dos Santos, her husband Sindika Dokolo and the Portuguese Mário da Silva, in addition to nine companies in which the daughter of the former President holds shares.
The court accused the three of hiding "assets obtained at the expense of the state", further maintaining that the former president's daughter, through her partner Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento, was "trying to transfer some of her business to Russia".
The court estimates the value of the losses to the state to exceed one billion dollars.
Isabel dos Santos holds stakes in Portugal in sectors such as energy (Galp and Efacec), telecommunications (NOS) or banking (EuroBic).
The court's decision highlights the crucial role played by José Eduardo dos Santos in the diamond business of her daughter and her husband, Sindaka Dokolo.
The court decision, to which the Lusa branch had access, states that in an evidentiary hearing, after hearing the witnesses, it was proved, among other facts, that in August 2010, the executive, headed by José Eduardo dos Santos, decided to trade Angolan diamonds abroad.
Isabel dos Santos said in a statement sent to Lusa on 31 that she had never been notified or heard in the investigation that led to the seizure of her accounts in Angola, denying the accusations in which she is targeted in a case that, she said, was "politically motivated.
"This ruling is the result of an injunction trial, which took place without the knowledge of the parties, in an apparently arbitrary and politically motivated manner. Not understanding or being able to comply with this framework in a democratic rule of law as Angola is, Isabel dos Santos intends to oppose each of these allegations in the proper time and under the terms established in Angolan law," reads the statement of the daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos.
