Hélder Pitta Grós, who addressed a year-end message to officials of the Attorney General's Office (PGR), said that special attention continues to be given to fighting "white collar crime", namely embezzlement, passive and active corruption, improper receipt of benefits, economic participation in business, money laundering and all types of economic and financial crime.
According to the Attorney General, around 500 investigation cases have been opened, as well as 98 cases have been brought to trial, six of which have already resulted in effective convictions.
"The cases in question were seized of monetary values, residences and vehicles and other miscellaneous goods considered objects or product or advantage of the crime, which will be lost to the State, when sentencing decisions become final, as well as companies, some of which already they were privatized like the textile industries and the supermarket chain 'Kero'", he stressed.
Hélder Pitta Grós also referred that this year, under a presidential decree, the PGR, as a prosecutor body, as well as the courts, was assigned a percentage of 10 percent of the value of assets definitively recovered in favor of the State.
"A measure that we consider right, not only because it is not new in our political reality, but also above all because it is a recommendation of international organizations that monitor the progress of countries in the strategy of preventing and combating corruption and money laundering", he stressed.
However, continued Hélder Pitta Grós, "the PGR has not yet benefited from any monetary value corresponding to its action in terms of asset recovery, as procedural administrative steps are under way to materialize the aforementioned Presidential Decree".
In the field of international cooperation, the Attorney General of the Republic of Angola highlighted that the PGR signed an important memorandum of understanding with the Swiss Federal Council on international legal assistance in criminal matters, an instrument that will facilitate cooperation actions with similar institutions in combating corruption and money laundering.
With the United Arab Emirates, contacts and documentation exchanges were established for the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding with the respective Attorney General's Office, as well as the joint project with the European Union for the strengthening of recovery capacities and assets was launched of the PGR.
"On the other hand, Angola, represented by the Attorney General's Office, was elected coordinator of the asset recovery network of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries [CPLP], created at the meeting of CPLP attorneys general in August 2021 in São Tomé and Príncipe", stressed Hélder Pitta Grós.
For 2022, the PGR indicated as challenges to empower the Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor's Office, de facto assuming the management and training of its magistrates, also taking into account that the figure of the guarantee judge will come into operation, requiring adaptation to the new model inaugurated by the Angolan Code of Criminal Procedure concerning procedural acts in the preparatory and contradictory instruction of criminal proceedings.
In a year of general elections, the PGR undertakes to carry out programs and campaigns for legal and civic education so that "the electoral period is observed with respect for the legality, plurality, rights, freedom and fundamental guarantees of citizens".
"To emphasize that for a better functioning and organization of the Attorney General's Office, it is urgent that we have our own headquarters, without which we cannot provide a more adequate response to the numerous challenges that we face," said Hélder Pitta Grós.
The Angolan PGR stressed that currently almost all municipalities in the country benefit from PGR assistance, either permanently or on a itinerary basis.
According to Hélder Pitta Grós, with a view to continuing training for both the Public Prosecutor's Office and the legal technicians, training courses were carried out, some of them on their own initiative, others in partnership with the National Institute of Judicial Studies, and others in Portugal, under the aegis of a cooperation protocol with the University of Coimbra.
