This is not the first time that the daughter of the first Angolan president has seen her assets frozen. In December last year, the Geneva Prosecutor's Office ordered the freezing of the accounts of the former MPLA member at the SYZA bank.
At stake is the investigation carried out by the authorities on Carlos de São Vicente, suspected of embezzlement, economic participation, influence peddling and money laundering.
The name of the businessman, who was indicted last week and began to be heard by the PGR this Tuesday, reached the newspapers after the Swiss courts decided to keep $900 million of his account frozen on suspicion of money laundering.
The former president of Sonangol's insurance company is suspected of having transferred large amounts of money, resulting from insurance company operations, to more direct family members' accounts, such as their children and wife, opened abroad.
The Swiss authorities claim that between 2012 and 2019 the entrepreneur transferred nearly $900 million from the insurer to his accounts, something that was only discovered when bank SYZ alerted him to a transfer of $213 million.
Authorities suspect that money raised by AAA Seguros would be transferred to tax havens owned by the entrepreneur. Experts estimate that of the 85 percent of the money raised by the insurer, only about 20 percent reached the international co-insurers. According to a source at ARSEG, the entity that regulates insurance in the country, quoted by Expresso, "the rest was transferred to phantom reinsurers in London and Bermuda.
In addition to freezing accounts in Switzerland, the Angolan authorities decided to lease several buildings and IKA hotels, as well as to freeze Carlos de São Vicente's 49 percent stake in Standard Bank.
According to Expresso, PGR may hear from Sonangol (who has already shown willingness to cooperate with the authorities) and former Vice President of the Republic, Manuel Vicente.
A judicial source has meanwhile informed Lusa that letters rogatory have also been sent to Portugal and Luxembourg, requesting the collaboration of the judicial authorities in these investigations.
