The judge at the Audiencia Nacional, a Spanish court that makes decisions on extradition requests, agreed that Carlos Panzo's defence should have "more time to study" a number of documents sent in recent days by the Angolan authorities, and suspended the hearing a few minutes after it began.
During this morning's brief session, the defence complained that the Angolan authorities had not met the legal deadlines and only now "explain the reasons for the extradition request" in a series of "incomplete" documents, since some of them "are not signed".
The Spanish prosecutor opposed the defence's arguments, considering that the documents were few in number, but acknowledged that "suspension could be accepted" in case there was no time to read them.
Carlos Aires da Fonseca Panzo was initially arrested in Spain in September last year at the request of the Angolan PGR, but is now awaiting a decision on his extradition request.
A source in the defence told Lusa that the Swiss authorities had already investigated Carlos Panzo and decided that there were no grounds to try him for alleged money laundering, and also released his bank accounts, which had initially been frozen.
It was on the basis of this case that the Angolan authorities also decided to investigate João Lourenço's former Secretary for Economic Affairs, according to the same sources.
In November 2017, the Angolan Public Prosecutor's Office opened proceedings against Carlos Panzo, seeking to clarify "a complaint about criminal acts" under international law.
According to the press, Carlos Panzo is being investigated following a complaint that he received commissions totalling 11 million dollars, paid by a Brazilian company, Odebrecht, in several tranches, through a bank account in Switzerland.
Carlos Panzo's defence is that the investigation cannot be tried twice for the same crime (non bis in idem principle), having already been cleared of all charges in Switzerland.
The same sources argue that Panzo also benefits from the Amnesty Law passed by parliament in August 2016.
