Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, daughter of Angola’s former President José Eduardo dos Santos, has lost her appeal to overturn a freezing order on assets valued at up to £580 million ($778 million), as ruled by London’s High Court on Monday.
The asset freeze stems from a legal case initiated by Angolan telecoms operator Unitel, which has been granted a worldwide freezing order against dos Santos’ assets.
The Court of Appeal has now rejected her bid to reverse this decision.
Unitel’s Claims
Unitel has been pursuing dos Santos over loans made to the Dutch company Unitel International Holdings (UIH) in 2012 and 2013. During this period, dos Santos served as a director of Unitel and held ownership and control of UIH. Unitel alleges that these loans, which were intended for the acquisition of shares in various telecommunications companies, remain unpaid. The outstanding debt is reported to be around £300 million.
Dos Santos’ Defence
Dos Santos, who stepped down from her role as director of Unitel in 2020, contends that she is being subjected to a politically motivated vendetta. She argues that Unitel’s actions, including its alleged involvement in the Angolan government’s unlawful seizure of UIH’s assets, are directly responsible for the company’s inability to repay the loans.
Court’s Findings
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal confirmed that Unitel and UIH are separate entities, despite sharing similar names, and upheld the freezing order over dos Santos’ assets. The court further recognized dos Santos’ ownership of UIH, reinforcing Unitel’s claims regarding the unpaid loans.
Allegations of Corruption
Isabel dos Santos, who was once Africa’s richest woman and its first female billionaire, has faced longstanding allegations of corruption and mismanagement in Angola. These claims, which she has consistently denied, have contributed to a complex legal and political environment surrounding her vast business empire.
Suspicions regarding the financial practices of her father, who assumed power in 1979, have lingered for decades, with widespread beliefs that he was depleting Angola’s resources on a massive scale.
Doubts have persisted about dos Santos’ claims that her immense wealth was amassed through legitimate business acumen. The turning point came after her father stepped down as president in 2017, succeeded by João Lourenço, when new evidence began to emerge.
The 2020 Luanda Leaks, published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media outlets, substantiated longstanding rumours, revealing how dos Santos accumulated her wealth through the preferential allocation of companies, public contracts, tax breaks, telecom licenses, diamond mining rights, and favourable loans.
Notably, she was appointed as the chief executive of the state oil company Sonangol—a pivotal position in a country heavily reliant on oil revenue—before being removed from that role by Lourenço in November 2017.
Dos Santos asserts that the accusations against her form part of an ongoing “campaign of oppression” by the Angolan authorities.
