"José Filomeno dos Santos' conviction was anticipated but will be seen as a game-changer in a country where his family used to operate with impunity," the analysts wrote in a commentary on Zenu dos Santos' conviction.
On 14 August, the Supreme Court sentenced the former president of the Angolan Sovereign Fund and son of the former president for the crime of fraud, in a continuous manner, to four years in prison and for the crime of influence peddling, in a legal cumulus of five years.
"Attention will now certainly turn to Isabel dos Santos, considered the richest woman in Africa, and to efforts to repatriate the undue gains, some of which are allegedly in Portuguese banks where the family has significant business interests," she adds in the Oxford Economics commentary sent to clients, to which Lusa had access.
In addition, they continue, attention "should also turn to other leaders of the former government of José Eduardo dos Santos, such as the former vice-president and administrator of Sonangol, Manuel Vicente, who was seen as the most likely successor to José Eduardo dos Santos and continues to have vast interests in Angola".
For now, analysts conclude, "João Lourenço and his supporters will be pleased with the media's condemnation, but they are also aware that much more is needed to deal with the deeply rooted corruption networks in the country".
The court also convicted three other defendants in the "500 million" case, Valter Filipe, former governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), António Samalia Bule, former BNA management director, and Jorge Gaudens Sebastião, a businessman and long-time friend of Zenu dos Santos.
The case concerned an irregular transfer of US$500 million from the Angolan central bank to the account of a foreign private company based in London, with the aim of setting up a strategic investment fund to finance structural projects in Angola.
The defence lawyers for the four defendants announced their intention to appeal the convictions.
