Ver Angola

Defense

PGR investigates Manuel Vicente for asset recovery

The former vice-president and former president of the oil company Sonangol, Manuel Vicente, is being the target of a patrimonial investigation to recover assets for the State, according to a judicial source.

: Jornal de Negócios
Jornal de Negócios  

The name of Manuel Vicente is associated with CIF (China International Fund), a Chinese company whose assets in Angola have recently been transferred to the state sphere and several businesses dating back to the time when he led Sonangol and which will have cost the country millions of dollars.

According to Expresso, the investigation services of the Attorney General's Office (PGR) estimate that Sonangol delivered US$2.3 billion in oil shipments to Chinese-British businessman Sam Pa, the main face of CIF.

"This operation will have been sustained with shipments of oil, the main support for the relations that, in a nebulous way, involved Sonangol and Sinopec, a Chinese oil company brought to Angola by Sam Pa and partner of the company then led by Manuel Vicente in the exploration of block 18," the portuguese weekly reported on Sunday.

Without detailing the amounts involved, a source from PGR said that "there are investigations underway" at the National Asset Recovery Service to identify Manuel Vicente's assets.

Contacted by Lusa, a Sonangol source failed to reveal details, stating only that the state oil company has been cooperating with the judicial authorities.

"We are available to assist in PGR requests related to suspicious situations that have occurred in the past," she said.

Along with Generals Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior "Kopelipa" and Leopoldino do Nascimento Fragoso "Dino", Manuel Vicente, another of the strong men of the regime of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, is linked to CIF, a Chinese company founded in 2003 to finance projects for national reconstruction and infrastructure development in developing countries, mainly in Africa.

According to a report by British study center Chatham House, published in 2009, CIF would have links to China Angola Oil Stock Holding Ltd, which would negotiate with Angolan oil through China Sonangol International Holding.

Among the directors of China Sonangol International Holding would be Manuel Vicente, who was investigated in Portugal for suspected corruption and money laundering in 2017.

"Dino" and "Kopelipa" have already been implicated in an investigation related to contracts signed between the state through the former Office of National Reconstruction and the Chinese company.

Last Wednesday, PGR announced that the two generals delivered several assets to the Asset Recovery Service, including companies and more than a thousand buildings.

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