"I did not appropriate any building [as] the accusation claims, because I did not share any project", responded this Monday Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior "Kopelipa", who is a defendant in the case along with fellow general Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento "Dino", Fernando Gomes dos Santos, Yiu Haiming, and the companies China International Found (CIF), Plansmart International Limited and Utter Right International Limited.
"Kopelipa" began to be questioned this Monday by the reporting judge Anabela Valente, in a session that began with the objection by the official representative of CIF Angola to the accusation by the Public Prosecutor's Office, who requested the court to acquit and return the company's assets due to the absence of conduct that could be considered a crime.
The session was also marked by the court's rejection of a question raised by the defense regarding the presence in the criminal chamber of one of the assistant judges who was also assigned to the civil chamber, and who was simultaneously carrying out and deciding judicial acts in both chambers, which could lead to "irremediable nullity", and the defense filed an appeal.
The court proceeded to question the first of the seven defendants, accused of the crimes of influence peddling, money laundering, embezzlement, fraud by defrauding, document forgery, criminal association and abuse of power.
"Kopelipa", who preferred to answer the questioning standing up, despite the court having offered him the possibility of sitting down, said that there was "confusion" in the facts presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office, which were "untrue".
According to him, there was no contract between the National Reconstruction Office of the Government of Angola (GRN) and CIF Angola.
According to the prosecution, the Zango Zero social housing project was public, but in 2010 it was split into two and transferred to a private entity, which was rejected by the accused.
According to General "Kopelipa", a figure close to former President José Eduardo dos Santos (now deceased), the State was responsible for the construction of only 22 buildings in that social housing project in Luanda, and the rest were initiated by CIF Angola, which the former head of state visited.
At that time, the former President visited the project being developed by CIF Angola, and there were already six buildings in the finishing stages, eight in an advanced stage of construction and ten in the initial phase of construction.
Regarding the relationship between GRN and CIF Angola, "Kopelipa" said that it arose from a memorandum of understanding that was required to ensure an incentive framework for the investment program of this Chinese company, including customs clearance of goods for later payment, as well as to ensure access to land and protective security for the implementation of its investments.
When asked about the construction of the CIF One building, recovered by the Angolan State, the defendant said that GRN was responsible for securing the land in exchange for the transfer of some floors, which did not materialize because the owners of the space did not agree to sell the land, and CIF sought other partners to carry it out.
Regarding the alleged loan of 150 million dollars to China Sonangol International Limited, the defendant responded that "GRN did not have the authority to grant loans" nor any type of relationship with that company.
In 2020, José Eduardo dos Santos' two former strongmen "Kopelipa" and "Dino" had to hand over to the State several companies and buildings owned by their companies China International Fund Angola – CIF and Cochan, S.A., including cement and beer factories, a supermarket chain and residential buildings.
The former vice-president of Angola and former leader of Sonangol, Manuel Vicente, is not among the accused, and his name is also absent from the list of more than 30 witnesses, despite being mentioned in the proceedings, in connection with his links with CIF.
The court continues, on Tuesday, to hear General "Kopelipa", while the defendants Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento, Fernando Gomes dos Santos, Yiu Haiming, the companies Utter Right International Limited, Plansmart International Limited and CIF Angola were dismissed.
