"We were not approached by any US investigator," said Robert Kapla, the head of the public policy group at the law firm and representative for relations with Angola, Robert Kapla.
The official was responding to a report by the consultancy and information company Pangea-Risk, advanced this Monday by the newspaper "Expresso" and to which Lusa had access, according to which an investigation by the northern justice is underway, in the last year. American to João Lourenço, his wife, Ana Dias Lourenço, and various business partners and companies, on alleged violations of US laws and regulations.
SPB declined to speculate or make comments alleging lack of evidence that the investigation exists.
The Washington-based lobby and law firm maintains that no speculation of illegality is justified with regard to its involvement in relations with Angola.
"We are transparent in our work, being a matter of public record submitted to the US Department of Justice, as required by the US Foreign Agent Registration Act," said Robert Kapla to Lusa.
The company reiterates its confidence in the direction of Angola, under the leadership of João Lourenço.
"President Lourenço has followed a bold agenda to end corruption in Angola and bring the necessary reforms to the country's economy," said Robert Kapla, adding: "We are proud to support the Presidency in this effort".
According to the expert and consultant, there is a "long and growing list" of supporters of anti-corruption reforms in Angola, "including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, European Union and the United States", which "actively support the President's efforts to transform the economy for the benefit of all Angolans ".
Despite this, a wave of resistance in the fight against corruption is noticeable within the country, he said: "These efforts inevitably met resistance from those who profited from corruption and illegality in the past".
Documents consulted by the Lusa agency indicate that Squire Patton Boggs was contracted by the Government for three purposes: "bringing Angola's financial system to international standards", "increasing trade and investment from the USA" and "improving Angola's profile in the States United".
The documents are public and registered under the "Foreign Agents Registration Act", updated every six months, where work on behalf of entities outside the United States is described , along with payments received and also disbursed by the company.
Details on contacts made by Squire Patton Boggs with members of the federal Congress in Washington to discuss bilateral relations between the USA and Angola are included.
Squire Patton Boggs' FARA statement is indicated in the Pangea-Risk report as a source of suspicion for the US investigation, as it indicates payments to another consultant, Erme Capital.
According to information obtained by Lusa, Erme was created by the Domínio Capital group, a consultancy group specialized in Portuguese-speaking countries, and subcontracted by SPB, as support for knowledge about Angola.
In the FARA statement over the past six months, SPB says it has made six payments to Erme Capital, all of which amounted to approximately $ 104,166 and totaled between July and December last year, $ 625,000.
The values are indicated with numbers and dates of receipts, in a table in an annex with the title "Office for external consultants for the Republic of Angola (Erme Capital Ltd)".
Isabel dos Santos statements in January 2020 in an interview with RTP imply that heads of Erme Capital and Domínio Capital maintain connections and a friendly relationship with the former Angolan vice president Manuel Vicente, from the government of her father, José Eduardo dos Santos.
The businesswoman, the target of corruption investigations, used the documents submitted by the SPB and raised, at the time, the same issue mentioned in this week's Pangea-Risk report, about the relationship between SPB, hired by the Government of João Lourenço, and Erme Capital.
For SPB, it is a 'no problem' and old news that does not contain anything extraordinary, because all the documents that Isabel dos Santos used can be consulted by anyone, being legal, public and available on the 'website' of the United States Department of Justice
SPB declared to Lusa that its work is limited to the instructions given by President João Lourenço, with no connection and no contact with the former vice-president.
SPB is also hired by China, Croatia and other international institutions, as noted in the document for compliance with the Foreign Agent Registration Law.
SPB is also hired by China, Croatia and other international institutions, as noted in the document for compliance with the Foreign Agent Registration Law.
The US State Department has yet to comment to the Lusa agency on the alleged investigation and Pangea-Risk mentioned that it was the target of a disinformation campaign after it released its report on Monday in an attempt to discredit the veracity of the information.
