According to a complaint filed in July this year at the Amsterdam Court, to which Lusa had access, 52.6 million euros allegedly "diverted" by Isabel dos Santos in 2017 from Esperaza, through which the Angolan oil company has a stake. at Galp Energia, passed through EuroBic and BIC Cabo Verde, two banks that at the time were controlled by the businesswoman and her partner Fernando Teles.
According to the order of summons, the funds were then transferred to accounts of other companies of Isabel dos Santos, allegedly without any investigation to which the two financial institutions were required under the money laundering laws in force in Cape Verde and Portugal and with the knowledge of the shareholder and manager of the two banks Fernando Teles.
The 52.6 million “were paid from Esperaza's account at Isabel dos Santos' Cape Verdean bank and [Fernando] Teles, BBCV [BIC Cape Verde Bank], to Exem's account at Isabel dos Santos' Portuguese bank and [Fernando] Teles, Eurobic, and then disappeared through the Portuguese company Terra Peregrin”, also of the Angolan businesswoman and daughter of the former president, now deceased, José Eduardo dos Santos, says the order, based on documents that Lusa also had access.
The "deviation" occurred "through a transfer from Esperaza's BBCV account to an Exem account at EuroBic" and "then EuroBic internally transferred the 52.6 million euros received from Exem to a Terra Peregrin account in February 2018, BBCV, Teles and EuroBic played key roles in the 'diversion'”, specifies the document.
Esperaza is a holding company under Dutch law, in 2017 controlled 60 percent by the Angolan state oil company and 40 percent by Exem Energy, a company 100 percent owned by Isabel dos Santos and her husband, Sindika Dokolo, who died in 2020. Esperaza owns 45 percent of Amorim Energia, which in turn is Galp Energia's largest shareholder, with 33.34 percent.
Contacted by Lusa, Fernando Teles said, in writing, that he “had no knowledge of the operations and transactions of either Esperaza or Exem” and underlined that either at Banco BIC Português [EuroBic], or at Banco BIC Cabo Verde, “he had never performed executive functions, but non-executive functions within the respective boards of directors”.
“BIC Português had an Executive Committee that, in 2017, was chaired by Prof. Teixeira dos Santos [former Minister of Finance of the Portuguese Government] and BIC Cabo Verde also had an Executive Committee which, on the same date, was chaired by Dr. António Nunes, administrator who transferred from the previous BPN”, highlighted the businessman.
Thus, and as he performs non-executive functions, that is, as chairman of the Board of Directors of Banco BIC Cabo Verde, Fernando Teles assures that “he did not follow the day-to-day activity of the bank, nor the processes of opening account, movement of the same or signature conferences, neither of this one, nor of any other customer of the bank, individual or company”.
“By the way, in this regard, it is also important to note that on the date in question, BIC Português and BIC Cabo Verde had a service provision agreement in force through which BIC Português ensured a set of functions for BIC Cabo Verde, within the scope of in the best practices with a view to preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing, namely the verification of documentation for opening an account and certification of signatures”, he says.
The Portuguese businessman with business in Angola concludes by ensuring that “he was not aware of the request for the transfer of funds as dividends that Esperaza requested for the accounts of the then shareholders with EuroBIC, of any allegedly falsified documents of resolutions, minutes, appointments or subscription forms of the same society”.
And he guarantees that “he did not intervene or was informed or consulted before the transfers were carried out”.
On the other hand, it underlines that “BIC Cabo Verde executed the orders to transfer the approved dividends to both shareholders (not only to Exem, but also to Sonangol), in accordance with the banking rules and regulations in force in Cabo Verde and also under the terms of the banking correspondence relationship maintained with EuroBIC, which naturally complied with all the compliance rules in force in the European Union”.
He also highlighted that “it was only several years later that the Dutch Courts / Arbitration Court came to consider the resolution of Esperaza as null and void in terms of its shareholder structure”.
The citation order, for its part, also underlines that “the close relationship between Isabel dos Santos and [Fernando] Teles is particularly relevant with regard to the last part of the 'deviation', the payments to Exem and subsequently to Terra Peregrin” .
At the time of the alleged "deviation", Isabel dos Santos and Fernando Teles were majority shareholders in EuroBic and BBCV, with stakes of 42.5 and 37.5 percent respectively.
Also contacted by Lusa, EuroBic emphasizes that “it processes operations from its customers and correspondent banks, applying the money laundering control law” and that “any operations that could have been processed, involving the entities in question, would not be exception".
According to the bank, the text of the citation order that Lusa had access to “contains several inaccuracies and information, at the very least, incorrect” and states that it “cannot comment on details related to operations allegedly carried out by the target entities”.
And it is justified by “the legal obligation, on the one hand, to recognize the quality of customer to any legal entity or individual, and, on the other hand, to maintain secrecy on any transactions carried out by customers or counterparties, ensuring, before, total reservation on procedural details related to the application of the money laundering law."
Thus, EuroBic only guarantees that it “processes operations from its customers and correspondent banks, applying the money laundering control law, taking into account the information available at each moment in time and the procedures established with each of the counterparties, in terms of account movement”. Therefore, “any operations that could have been processed, involving the entities in question, would not be an exception”.
The bank, based in Lisbon, stresses, however, that “it can attest to the nature of the money laundering control mechanisms it has implemented, but it does not control, cannot control, has no duty to control and is not responsible for controlling the procedures of the same type implemented by any other entities”.
“The controls implemented are those provided for by law. The same happens with the contact and reporting procedures with the authorities that arise from the respective analysis”, he adds. In conclusion: "In summary, EuroBic is completely oblivious to any alleged attempt to 'embezzle funds'".
