Angola claims $11 billion recovered from graft cases

AFP | Angola has recovered assets worth more than US$11 billion that had been looted from state coffers and stashed in countries around the world, the justice minister said.

The authorities have launched 715 criminal prosecutions for corruption, fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes, Justice Minister Francisco Queiroz said in the state-owned Jornal de Angola.

Over the last 3 years, the government has recovered nearly US$11.5 billion dollars (€10.06 billion) in cash and property in Angola and around the globe, he said.

Assets have been recovered from Britain, Switzerland, Singapore and Bermuda, among others, he said.

“The total amount seized and recovered, in the country and abroad, totals US$11,486,042,997.22,” he said in the paper.

After taking office in 2017, President João Lourenço launched an anti-corruption drive to recoup assets he suspected were embezzled under his predecessor, José Eduardo dos Santos.

Dos Santos, 79, is accused of appointing relatives and friends to top positions during his 38-year presidency. They allegedly siphoned off Angola’s oil wealth, leaving behind a nation mired in poverty.

His daughter Isabel is being investigated for allegedly funneling state funds into offshore assets – accusations she vehemently denies.