“The adversarial investigation has been very useful, because it is allowing us to better clarify some of the facts contained in the accusation,” the lawyer stressed in statements to Lusa. “If our courts are reputable, they cannot ignore what is being produced now. To move in the opposite direction would be to transform this phase into a merely folkloric diligence,” he emphasized.
In the adversarial investigation phase, which is expected to conclude by mid-July, five of the seven witnesses listed by the defense of the daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos have already been heard.
The adversarial investigation, an optional phase in criminal proceedings, was requested by the defense as a way of contesting the accusation by the Public Prosecutor's Office.
“The objective is to contradict everything that was narrated in the accusation,” stated Raimundo, clarifying that the witnesses are not at the service of the defense, but of the court, “obliged to tell the truth under penalty of perjury.”
This phase is scheduled to conclude on July 10, when the last two witnesses are expected to be heard and the adversarial debate is held.
The court will then be responsible for deciding whether or not to accept the charges as presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office, and may reject them in whole or in part.
When asked by Lusa, Sérgio Raimundo refused to comment on which crimes could be charged, citing judicial secrecy, but insisted: “We believe in justice, which is why we are there, making our contribution to upholding one of the great structuring principles of Angolan criminal justice, which is the principle of material truth.”
The legal proceedings focus on alleged irregularities committed during Isabel dos Santos's management of the oil company Sonangol.
The businesswoman is accused of several crimes, including mismanagement, fraud, money laundering and criminal association, and is suspected of having set up a fictitious scheme to hire consultants with the aim of diverting public funds from Sonangol.
According to the Attorney General's Office, the services were not provided, despite having been paid for.
Isabel dos Santos has denied all accusations, claiming that all contracts were legal and were audited and aimed at modernizing Sonangol.
The businesswoman was appointed chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol in June 2016, during the last months of her father's term as president of the Republic.
During her term, she began restructuring the oil company by hiring international consultants and centralizing decisions on the Board of Directors. Isabel dos Santos was dismissed in November 2017 by current president João Lourenço and has been living outside Angola since 2018, after being subject to an asset freeze and an alert issued by Interpol at the request of the Attorney General's Office of Angola.
