Angolan billionaire accused of money laundering through 14 companies in Malta loses appeal

Aqra bil-Malti

Angolan billionaire accused of laundering millions through companies in Malta, Isabel dos Santos, has lost an appeal to overturn an order freezing up to £580 million of her assets as part of a lawsuit at London’s High Court.

She is the daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos who ruled Angola for 38 years, until 2017. She is Africa’s first female billionaire.

She is accused of defrauding the country of $219 million and funnelling her ill-gotten gains through an offshore network, including 14 shell companies in Malta, using fraudulent documents, forged invoices, and extremely high salary increases between 2016 and 2017.

Santos has been charged with crimes including tax fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering, according to a report by the ICIJ.

In 2020, the ICIJ revealed the Luanda Leaks, which showed how she made a fortune from deals in diamonds, oil, banking, telecoms, and real estate while her father was president.

A judge granted the asset freeze nearly a year ago, after Angolan telecommunications operator Unitel sued dos Santos over loans made while she was on the board of directors to a company she controlled in the Netherlands, Unitel International Holdings. The Court rejected her appeal against that decision.

Court documents show Unitel accused dos Santos of procuring around $400 million in loans at below commercial value from the company in 2012 and 2013 for UIH and her “own personal benefit,” according to the BBC.

Though wanted in Angola in connection with multiple crimes, including money laundering, embezzlement and tax fraud, dos Santos currently lives publicly and lavishly in Dubai, where she, her mother and a business associate are linked to multiple properties.

@isabel_dos.santos #TikTok ♬ Pagodão do Birimbola (Tchubirabirom) – Os Quebradeiras & Machadez & Mousik

ICIJ reports that although Interpol has asked governments around the world to find and provisionally arrest Isabel dos Santos, she is not hiding. Instead, she regularly posts about her lavish lifestyle at a Dubai residence on social media.

Dubai has remained a safe haven for dos Santos, a destination increasingly sought by those accused of money laundering in Malta.