In an open letter addressed to Hélder Pitta Grós and Lucília Gago, Attorneys General of Angola and Portugal, respectively, the organisations Mãos Livres, Omunga, Pro Bono Angola and Uyele state that "the Angolan and Portuguese authorities continue to disagree on the return of Isabel dos Santos' assets seized and arrested in Portugal, following the scandal known as Luanda Leaks".
The four Angolan civil society organisations are requesting "full justification for the impediments that are maintained on Portuguese soil and under the management of the Portuguese judicial authorities" regarding the assets of Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, "in particular the amounts corresponding to her shares in Efacec and EuroBIC".
The signatories of the letter request that the real value of the Angolan State's investment in the acquisition of Efacec in 2015, through ENDE's stake in Winterfell Industries, be publicly disclosed, as well as the distribution of dividends, if any, among Efacec shareholders in the years 2016 to 2020 and the real value of Winterfell Industries shares before nationalization in 2020.
These organizations also seek explanations on the amount recovered by Angola, following the sale by the Portuguese State of Winterfell Industries shares in 2023 and question "how the legality of the funds used by Isabel dos Santos to consolidate her position in EuroBIC over the years was determined".
The clarifications that these organizations seek are also about the total amount paid to Isabel dos Santos by ABANCA for her shares in EuroBIC, with the amount recovered by Angola, through its National Asset Recovery Service, following the sale of EuroBIC.
"What operations were used to finance the funds transferred by Isabel dos Santos after the Angolan courts lifted the seizure of her bank accounts? Are there ongoing investigations into the role of Portuguese consultancy firms in facilitating alleged money laundering schemes carried out through EuroBIC? If so, what stage are these proceedings at?", the letter's signatories also ask.
For these organizations, "the money diverted by Isabel dos Santos must be returned to the people of Angola", and they ask "in the name of transparency and solidarity with the victims of corruption in Angola" that all information relating to the assets of Angolan citizens seized and confiscated in Portugal be made public, as well as an updated list of those that have already been returned.
An International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ), which includes several media outlets, analyzed data relating to Isabel dos Santos' business between 1980 and 2018, revealing the path that led the daughter of the former President of the Republic to become the richest woman in Africa, in a process that became known as "Luanda Leaks".
