According to the order of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Angola, which Lusa reported on Friday, the defendants in this case are Manuel Helder Vieira Dias Júnior ("Kopelipa"), Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento ("Dino"), You Himing, Fernando Gomes dos Santos and the companies China International Fund Angola, Plansmart International Limited and Utter Right International Limited.
The two generals were made defendants in 2022 for the alleged practice of crimes such as influence peddling and money laundering, according to the ruling issued by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Angola, dated December 20, 2023, which Lusa published in February this year.
Helder Vieira Dias Júnior, "Kopelipa", former head of Angolan secret companies, and Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento, nicknamed "Dino", and five other defendants, including three companies, will be tried for the crimes of influence peddling and money laundering , among others, as part of a process that also involves the Angolan branch of China International Fund.
According to the indictment, the former head of the Angolan secret services is accused of crimes of embezzlement, fraud by fraud, document forgery, criminal association, influence peddling, abuse of power and money laundering, in a total of seven crimes.
The former head of communication services "Dino", as well as lawyer Fernando Gomes dos Santos and You Haiming, from China International Fund, will be held responsible for the crimes of fraud, document forgery, criminal association, influence peddling and money laundering. capitals.
The case also involves the companies China International Fund Angola, Plansmart International Limited and Utter Right International Limited, which have been accused of influence peddling, money laundering, embezzlement by defrauding and document forgery, but will only be responsible for the first two crimes, as that, at the time of the events, the law did not provide for the criminalization of the last two legal types.
The companies were allegedly used by the defendants to set up a scheme that harmed the State in millions of dollars, involving a financing agreement between Angola and China to support national reconstruction, after the civil war that ended in 2002.
According to the process, in 2020, the two former strongmen of José Eduardo dos Santos, former president of Angola, who died in 2022, had to hand over to the State several companies and buildings owned by CIF and Cochan, S.A., including factories of cement and beer, a chain of supermarkets and residential buildings.
Not included among those accused is the former vice-president of Angola and former leader of Sonangol, Manuel Vicente, whose name is also absent from the list of more than 30 witnesses, despite being named in the process, as part of his connections. with the ICF.
The court rejected the declaration of nullity of the notification of the indictment requested by general “Dino’s” lawyers (who wanted the 1929 Code of Criminal Procedure to be applied to the process), as “it manifests inadmissibility, in honor of the principles of procedural speed, economy procedural and maximum legal use of acts already carried out”.
In a contradictory instruction, requested by “Kopelipa”, Fernando Gomes dos Santos, Plansmart International Limited and Utter Right International Limited, the court considered that the defendants “did not bring relevant elements to refute the accusation” and considered that sufficient evidence had been collected to pronounce ( bring to trial) all defendants in the case.
In a statement released on Monday, the Communication Office of the Supreme Court states that the process has 38 declarants and witnesses, with the group of judges presided over by judge counselor Anabela Vicente, with Marinho Nunes and Inácio Paixão as deputies.
Prosecutor Lucas Ramos represents the Public Ministry in this process, with the defense provided by lawyers Bangula Cuemba, Benja Satula and Amaral Gourgel.
