According to Hélder Pitta Grós, "the cases are not investigated in six months or in a year, this is the type of crime because of its complexity takes much longer, is much more time consuming".
"They also require a lot of international cooperation intervention to request exams, forensics, for documentation," he argued, in remarks to journalists, after inaugurating the Virtual Prison (Video Conference Room) of Hospital Prisão São Paulo, in Luanda.
For the Attorney General of the Republic, the "slowness" of the process involving the businesswoman Isabel dos Santos also stems from the limitations imposed by the covid-19, "especially last year, so the institutions no longer work, practically at 100 percent" .
"Not only in Angola, but also in other countries more developed than ours, there are also difficulties in functioning, but the important thing is the work is being done and in the best possible way", assured Hélder Pitta Grós, without going any further. Details.
Asked by Lusa about the alleged "conspiracy" of which the businesswoman complains, the PGR replied that "the engineer Isabel dos Santos is free to say what she thinks is convenient for her defense".
"I have nothing to say about this, it is her opinion and I have nothing to say about it," said Hélder Pitta Grós.
In late March, businesswoman Isabel dos Santos accused President João Lourenço of trying to "usurp" her assets illegally and presented alleged evidence to the London Court that would reveal "a conspiracy" in the context of the Unitel case.
The telecommunications company Unitel, founded by the daughter of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, advanced last year with a lawsuit in London against Unitel International Holdings (UIH), owned by Isabel dos Santos, to recover a debt of more than EUR 350 million.
The complaint dated 26 October claims the repayment of seven loans granted between May 2012 and August 2013 from Unitel to UIH which, he stresses, "despite its name, has no business connection or affiliation with Unitel". Unitel claims that UIH owes more than 325 million euros and almost 44 million dollars, plus interest on late payments.
In a statement sent to the Lusa agency, Isabel dos Santos now says that she has presented new evidence to the London Superior Court that shows that the attacks by the State "were driven not only for political and financial reasons, but also as a way of distracting public opinion from corruption. and the bribery that plagues the Government of João Lourenço, including senior officials and the state oil company Sonangol ".
Isabel dos Santos also says that "the revelations" show that the journalistic investigation that became known as 'Luanda Leaks' and exposed alleged financial schemes of the businesswoman that harmed the public purse in millions of dollars, was "a targeted attack by the Angolan secret services" who acted under the orders of President João Lourenço.
The businesswoman stresses that the materials were obtained illegally and used as part of an "asset appropriation strategy designed by João Lourenço's administration to illegally accuse, defame and isolate Isabel dos Santos, thus allowing the Angolan State to illegitimately confiscate her assets".
As for the case involving Unitel, which came to be controlled by the oil company Sonangol in January 2020, Isabel dos Santos claims that UIH could not repay the loans due to the freezing of its accounts and assets and that it has now presented the court with evidence about the "conspiracy".
The statement said the evidence was obtained by the private information firm Black Cube and consists of "dozens of hours of audio and video recordings" in which former senior government officials and advisers make disclosures about an alleged conspiracy by the executive to seize the assets by Isabel dos Santos.
The businesswoman argues that João Lourenço used "a wide range of State resources, including the Angolan judicial system and intelligence services" to seize his assets and that the Government instructed the judicial system (including the Supreme Court and the Attorney General of the Republic) so that a judicial process could be instituted against the daughter of the former president, which allowed the application of an order to freeze his assets by the State.
"The Angolan Government also ordered Mercury (through its parent company, the state oil company Sonangol) to act in collusion with PT Ventures (through its parent company, the Brazilian Oi, the opposite party), in the arbitration process of ICC Unitel, with the objective of guaranteeing a favorable result for PT Ventures ", is added in the statement.
According to Isabel dos Santos, the alleged collusion allowed Sonangol to buy the shares of Unitel held by Oi's subsidiary from PT Ventures and thus take over 50 percent of Unitel, as well as to acquire its arbitration rights to be executed, which the oil company "opted for. selectively apply only to Vidatel "- Unitel shareholder held by the businesswoman - despite all other parties (Geni and Mercury) being jointly liable".
