On Tuesday, the National Asset Recovery Service of the Attorney General's Office ordered the seizure of 49 percent of AAA Activos' minority stake in the SBA, as well as buildings of the AAA group, belonging to Carlos de São Vicente, as part of an asset investigation process.
In a reply sent to the Lusa branch, the bank stressed that it is "collaborating with the competent authorities in this process" and working in conjunction with the National Bank of Angola, noting that the process underway does not involve the SBA, but only its minority shareholder AAA Activos, Lda.
According to a statement from PGR, 49 percent of AAA Activos, Lda.'s holdings in Standard Bank of Angola, three AAA buildings and the IRCA building, located on Avenida Lenine, Nova Marginal, Avenida 21 de Janeiro and Rua Amílcar Cabral, respectively, and the IU and IKA hotel chain, all located in Luanda, were seized.
PGR justifies the seizure with evidence of embezzlement, economic participation in business, influence peddling and money laundering of the entrepreneur, which is being investigated in Switzerland.
The Instituto de Gestão e Participação do Estado (IGAPE) has been appointed as trustees for the shares and the Cofre Geral de Justiça for the buildings and hotel chains.
The AAA, led by Carlos de São Vicente, married to one of the daughters of the first President, Agostinho Neto, is one of the largest Angolan business groups, operating in the area of insurance and hospitality.
The businessman is also a non-executive administrator of Standard Bank of Angola and requested his immediate suspension of functions until the conclusion of the process, announced on Monday the banking institution.
According to the Swiss judicial blog Gotham City, which quotes the Swiss Public Prosecutor's Office order, Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, seven of his accounts were frozen, the funds of six were released and the account, which has around 900 million dollars, the equivalent of more than 752 million euros, was kept frozen.
In a note, the family of António Agostinho Neto considered "abusive, slanderous and unfriendly, the use of the name of António Agostinho Neto in relation to the combat to the corruption that the country carries through".
The family and the Foundation Dr. António Agostinho Neto remember that the first President of Angola passed away in September of 1979, six years before the marriage of its first daughter, Irene Neto, in 1985, with Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, considering, therefore, "an absurdity to associate its name to judicial processes in investigation".
