Carlos de São Vicente, husband of Irene Neto, daughter of the first President of Angola, was convicted of embezzlement, money laundering and tax fraud and the defense guarantees that it will appeal the sentence.
Questioned by Lusa, the defense of Carlos São Vicente, the decision of the judge in the case, Edson Escrivão, "was not unanimous".
"There was an out-vote for several irregularities" recorded during the trial, which began on 11 February, said the same source.
In custody since September 2020, the crimes attributed to Carlos São Vicente, according to the indictment, involved amounts in excess of one billion euros.
The businessman, who for almost two decades had the insurance and reinsurance monopoly of state oil company Sonangol, is said to have set up a triangular scheme, with companies in Angola, London and Bermuda, which generated losses for the Angolan treasury, in fiscal terms.
With this scheme, and according to the same document, Carlos São Vicente, owner of one of the largest private business groups in Angola at the time, also managed not to share profits from the insurance and reinsurance business with other co-insurers, such as the public insurer ENSA, thus harming these companies, as well as Sonangol itself.
For the prosecution, Carlos São Vicente created from a certain point a "kind of business with himself, within the AAA group [which he owned], causing the diversion of public funds".
The accusations and the "excessive preventive detention" were repeatedly contested by the defense, which now promises to appeal the sentence handed down this Thursday at the 3rd Criminal Section of the Luanda District Court.
The coverage of the hearings of this trial was "boycotted" by journalists, after they were prevented from accessing the room on the first day of the Carlos São Vicente trial for "request for defence".
A justice official informed the journalists, on that occasion, that they should not capture images or audio, but only take notes, which the press professionals refused as they considered an impediment due to the fact that it was a public hearing.
