The revelation was made in an interview with Lusa by the US ambassador, Tulinabo S. Mushingi, ten days after Angola received a visit from the US Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, who met with several entities to discuss strengthening the bilateral partnership, encouraging economic growth and attracting investors and fighting corruption.
"One of the issues we discussed had to do with the fight against corruption. We met with different entities including the Attorney General's Office, the National Bank of Angola, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, and from this visit came a concrete result, which we had already been working on: the sending of a Treasury official who will stay here", the diplomat told Lusa.
The official will provide "technical assistance", working together with the Ministry of Finance, he explained, noting that the Treasury department also deals with matters related to fiscal transparency.
In this sense, the finance specialist will support the development of systems "that help to detect some transactions that may be suspicious" and in the inspection of the budget, and will also provide training to technicians who perform these functions in Angola.
Asked whether the US is collaborating with Angola's justice system in investigations related to Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos, and other figures linked to the former executive, the diplomat underlined that the US collaboration with Angola it is not only done in terms of the fight against corruption and encompasses many areas.
"When our partner asks us to help, in any area, we try to work with her", said the ambassador, stressing that the fight against corruption is not only beneficial for Angola, but also benefits the entire economy and the United States itself.
"It is another way of collaborating with the Government and the people of Angola", he continued.
At the end of last year, the Biden Administration imposed sanctions on the former Minister of State and head of the Military House of the Presidency Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior "Kopelipa" and on the former head of the Communication Service of the Government Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento "Dino" and ordered the freezing of the assets of those generals, former strongmen of José Eduardo dos Santos.
The daughter of former President Isabel dos Santos was also targeted by the US State Department, which imposed restrictions on the businesswoman's entry into the country.
Asked if there are more top Angolan figures to be investigated, the diplomat declined to go into details.
