ANGOLAN BILLIONAIRES ISABEL DO SANTOS LOSES APPEAL FOR $778M ASSET FREEZE
Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s first female billionaire and daughter to Angola’s former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Monday lost an appeal to overturn an order freezing up to $778 million of her assets as part of a lawsuit at London’s High Court.
The lawsuit, filed in December by Angolan telecoms operator Unitel, granted a worldwide freezing over dos Santos’ assets.
Dos Santos has for years faced corruption accusations in Angola. She denies the allegations and argues that she is the target of a long-running political vendetta.
Unitel is suing Dos Santos over loans the company made to separate Dutch company Unitel International Holdings (UIH) in 2012 and 2013, when the Angolan billionaire was a Unitel director. The money was to fund UIH’s acquisition of shares in telecoms companies.
Dos Santos owns and controls UIH, the Court of Appeal said in its ruling.
Unitel and UIH are not related despite bearing the same name, and dos Santos resigned as a director of Unitel in 2020.
The loans were not repaid, and around 300 million pounds is outstanding, Unitel’s lawyers argued at the High Court. But dos Santos —who claims to be the victim of a “campaign of oppression” by Angola —says Unitel is itself responsible for UIH’s inability to repay the loans because of its alleged role in Angola’s unlawful seizure of UIH assets.
ANGOLAN BILLIONAIRES ISABEL DO SANTOS LOSES APPEAL FOR $778M ASSET FREEZE
