The information was confirmed to Lusa by the law firm that defends Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil, who explained that a letter rogatory with questions to José Eduardo dos Santos was sent to Angola through diplomatic channels.
At issue is an accusation that Lula had interfered with the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) to grant a line of credit to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, for the export of services to Angola, at the time José Eduardo dos Santos ruled the country.
According to the indictment, this concession would have led Odebrecht to make donations to the Workers' Party (PT).
"The defense of former President Lula, through lawyer Cristiano Zanin, presented some questions to former President José Eduardo Santos. The questions seek to reinforce the frivolous nature of the accusations made against Lula da Silva by Operation Lava Jato," indicated the law firm.
"More specifically, they seek to demonstrate that Odebrecht had been providing engineering services in Angola since the late 1970s and already had credit lines from Brazilian entities for this purpose long before the governments of former President Lula (2003-2010)," the defense added in statements to Lusa.
Earlier this month, a Brazilian regional court filed a criminal case similar to the one José Eduardo dos Santos has now been called to testify, and which accused Lula da Silva of alleged participation in Odebrecht contract fraud in Angola with BNDES.
Unanimously, the judges of the Federal Regional Court for the 1st Region (TRF-1) considered that there were no elements in the file that would justify the continuation of the process.
The accusation had been made by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the Federal District, which indicated that Lula had acted together with the BNDES "and other bodies in Brasilia" to favor the construction company Odebrecht in loans for engineering works in Angola.
Now, the defense of the PT's historic leader is also trying to have the action in which the former Angolan president will be heard filed.
"The defense also shows that all the accusations being made in Brazil against Lula are part of a phenomenon that was described by the former president's lawyers in 2016 as 'lawfare,' which consists of the strategic use of law for illegitimate purposes, including that of political persecution," added the lawyers of the former head of state.
The lawsuit in question takes place at the 10th Federal Court of Brasília, with Judge Vallisney Oliveira.
The defense of former President Lula da Silva has not yet known the date on which José Eduardo dos Santos' testimony will occur.
Lula da Silva has already been convicted in two corruption cases, and is being the target of at least seven other investigations. He has been imprisoned for 580 days and was released last November.
Lula da Silva has always denied all charges and claims to be a victim of judicial persecution by people with political ambitions.
Launched in 2014, the Lava Jato operation brought to public attention a huge corruption scheme of public companies, such as Petrobras, involving dozens of high-ranking political and economic officials, and leading to the arrest of many of them, such as former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was convicted by former Judge Sérgio Moro.
