The announcement was made this Wednesday by the representative of the MP, Manuel Domingos, while reading the prosecution order, on the first day of trial of Manuel Rabelais and Hilário Santos, accused in a process in which they are indicted for crimes of embezzlement of continued form.
"Even after the extinction of the organ, 201.7 million kwanzas were raised by the defendants, leaving GRECIMA's accounts with a negligible amount and (...) undoing documents supporting the expenses and financial operations made with large amounts that should be filed in the organ, all done so as not to leave a trace ", said Manuel Domingos.
Manuel Rabelais, former Minister of Social Communication, is listed in the process as a former director of the extinct Office for the Revitalization of Institutional Communication and Marketing of the Administration (GRECIMA), for acts carried out between 2016 and 2017.
The deputy of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), with a suspended mandate, is also accused of violating the rules of execution of the plan and budget and money laundering, punishable by a sentence greater than two years in prison.
The same crimes are attributed to Hilário Santos, former administrative technician of that body, created in May 2002, as an auxiliary organ of the former President, José Eduardo dos Santos, and extinguished, in 2017, by President João Lourenço.
In reading the order for the prosecution of this trial, which started this Wednesday in the criminal chamber of the Supreme Court (TS), the MP reiterated that Manuel Rabelais, assisted by Hilário Santos, "transformed GRECIMA into an authentic exchange house, attracting companies and natural persons to deposit kwanzas in exchange for foreign currency, selling foreign exchange at a higher exchange rate "than was practiced by the National Bank of Angola (BNA).
GRECIMA had accounts domiciled at Banco de Comércio Indústria (BCI) to which a large part of the currencies acquired at BNA were channeled, and at other commercial banks, namely BAI (Banco Angolano de Investimentos), BIC (Banco Internacional de Crédito), SOL and BPC (Savings and Credit Bank).
In all bank accounts at the institution, the prosecution says, Manuel Rabelais "demanded that he be the only subscriber".
According to the judicial magistrate, during that period, Manuel Rabelais asked the BNA to acquire 98 million dollars and "for the operations," co-defendant Hilário Santos was accredited. "They have cunningly managed to turn GRECIMA into an authentic exchange office," he said.
Regarding the raising of individuals and companies to deposit kwanzas in the GRECIMA account and acquire foreign currency, the MP stressed, the defendant Manuel Rabelais claimed that it was a file used by GRECIMA "all with the knowledge of the former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos".
"In contradictory instructions, contrary to the accused Manuel Rabelais, the former Angolan President, in a letter addressed to the Court, said that he had nothing to clarify because the management of the body was not accompanied by him, but by the then head of the House of Security" he said.
The prosecution order also states that the defendants transferred a total of more than 16 million euros to 11 companies, via the BCI (Banco de Comércio e Indústria) bank, with Manuel Rabelais "in some of these companies". partner and beneficial owner".
Of this amount, points out the Public Ministry, Rabelais moved amounts to other bank accounts and those of his relatives, namely 2.8 million euros for two children.
Defendants transferred more than 12 million kwanzas from the GRECIMA account domiciled at BPC to "unknown beneficiaries".
In the order of pronunciation, the judges of the criminal chamber of the TS reaffirmed the crimes that the defendants have been accused of, stressing that they "were aware that they acted in a concerted manner".
The panel of judges also decided to partially grant and dismiss the defendants for the crimes of illicit receipt of advantage.
In his defense, defendant Hilário Santos' lawyer, Belchior Catongo, asked for the absolution of his constituent, stating that the imputed evidence "is unfounded" and that it had to be listed "as a declarant, because he only acted in obedience to his superior hierarchical".
Manuel Rabelais' lawyer also asked for acquittal and refuted the pronunciation and prosecution arguments, saying that "it is not relevant to say that the former GRECIMA director demanded that he be the only subscriber to bank accounts".
"Because he was the only civil servant with such competence," argued the causalist, Amaral Gourgel.
Manuel Rabelais "worked hard to reverse the negative image of Angola abroad and succeeded. To state that GRECIMA was transformed into an authentic exchange house is offensive", he noted.
In this trial, chaired by Judge Daniel Modesto, 14 deponents are listed, including former BNA governor Walter Filipe and former chairman of the board of directors of BCI Filomeno Alves de Ceita.
The trial continues on Thursday.
