By Sonia RolleyPosted 20-01-2020Modified 20-01-2020 at 19:32
As Angolan justice freezes the assets of the relatives of former president José Eduardo dos Santos, the leak of more than 715,000 confidential documents sheds new light on the business relations between Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the ex- Head of State, and her husband Sindika Dokolo. According to the "Luanda Leaks", an investigation coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the two billionaires have greatly benefited from their proximity to the Angolan public oil company, Sonangol.
On this June 16, 2006, in the luxurious Sheraton Park Tower hotel in London is held a somewhat special general meeting. It brings together the managers of the very young Angolan mobile phone company, Unitel SA, which has been operating for barely five years. It is 12:30 pm and all the shareholders are " duly represented ". There is " the engineer Isabel dos Santos , also administrator ". The daughter of President José Eduardo dos Santos, then in power, represents Vidatel, one of the financial vehicles she loves: based in the British Virgin Islands, and owning 25% of the capital. Also present, the powerful president of Sonangol and future vice-president of Angola, Manuel Vicente. The national oil company has invested alongside the eldest head of state. PT Ventures, a Portuguese telecommunications company, whose majority shareholder is the Brazilian heavyweight Oi, and a mysterious Angolan company represented by a retired Angolan general, Geni, hold the other two quarters.
That year, the shareholders granted themselves $ 144 million in dividends. Five years later, in 2011, it will be 740 million. General meetings follow one another and are always held in palaces abroad, from London to Lisbon. The investigation into the 715,000 documents of the " Luanda Leaks " reveals that at least $ 5 billion in dividends were paid between 2005 and 2016 to the shareholders of Unitel. At least a quarter goes to Sonangol and another quarter to Isabel dos Santos herself.
" For the benefit of the daughter of the President of Angola "
The happy sharing does not last. In October 2015, PT Ventures claimed $ 600 million from its Angolan partners before the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) in Paris and accused them of “ diverting revenue to other commercial enterprises which enrich the defendants, in particular for the benefit of Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the President of Angola ”. The principal interested party explained herself a few weeks later before the same body, saying that PT Ventures had not received the promised dividends, because they had to be paid in kwanza. The Angolan national currency is no longer convertible, PT Ventures has, according to Isabel dos Santos, neither bank account in Angola nor received the authorization to convert the amounts due in currency. When PT Ventures obtains a global measure to freeze Unitel SA operations, the "Princess of Angola" transfers hundreds of millions to her personal accounts or those of her companies. Again, Isabel dos Santos justifies this measure by the depreciation of the kwanza and the need to invest, especially in real estate, so as not to lose anything. Sonangol still does not complain about anything and finds itself on the dock with the daughter of President dos Santos. The Angolan partners of Unitel SA are still closing ranks.
Isabel has always been the queen of oil. Daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos and uninhibited businesswoman, she has been crowned for seven consecutive years as the richest in Africa by the American magazine Forbes . It was precisely in 2016, two years before leaving office that her father appointed her president of the board of directors of Sonangol. The national company is experiencing serious financial difficulties, officially because of the collapse in oil prices. This is probably not the only reason. In its report of December 2011, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had pointed out the disappearance of 32 billion of receipts from the accounts of Sonangol, directed at the time, by the all-powerful Manuel Vicente. The Angolan government had covered these expenses by claiming that they were operations carried out with its validation without being " recorded in the budgetary accounts ".
When engineer Isabel took over the management of Sonangol, the state-owned enterprise remained one of the flagships of the country's economy. But at a time when the too rich Angola has no more money - neither dollars nor euros - this nomination goes badly, perceived as a new favor towards Princess Isabel. More and more voices, including within the State party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), ask "Zedu" to give up power.
" For years, nobody wanted to point out the contradictions, " denounced the Angolan journalist and anti-corruption activist Rafael Marquès de Morais , Angola's main whistleblower, hated by the Dos Santos regime and now decorated by his successor. João Lourenço. “ It was infuriating to see the media glorifying Isabel, the self-made woman , daughter of the president, and her husband, the collector of African art, son of banker Marshal Mobutu without ever being asked. the origin of their fortune. For this bane of the clan, no one could ignore the plunder of the resources of his country, since entering Isabel's capital alongside Sonangol in Unitel SA. The husband and business partner Sindika Dokolo sees in it only the fruit of the work of the " Isabel engineer ", specialized in telecommunications. " It was she, the network architect who made Unitel's success and it was an excellent investment for Sonangol, these shares are now worth more than a billion dollars, " he retorts. .
Sindika Dokolo on the front line
Mr. Dokolo is also very proud of the entry into the capital of the energy giant of the former colonial power, Galp, of companies with Angolan capital. " It's still an idea of Isabel, " he assures, " Sonangol had neither the contacts nor the capacities to carry out such an ambitious financial package. The Congolese businessman even assures that the project was even more daring: there was talk of attempting a "merger-purchase" of the Spanish energy giant, CEPSA. He refuses the idea that the Angolan oil company could claim to be injured by this lucrative and prestigious operation.
It all started in 2005. Esperaza Holding BV, a subsidiary of Sonangol, joined forces with the group of the Portuguese billionaire Américo Amorim, co-shareholder of Isabel dos Santos at Banco Bic, and founded Amorim Energia BV. Objective: buy back shares in Galp. The operation was formalized on December 7. In the following year, neither the name of Isabel dos Santos nor that of her husband Sindika Dokolo was mentioned as part of this financial package. In its governance report , the energy giant in Portugal touts a partnership with Sonangol, " the exclusive holder of concession rights for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Angola ".
A few days after Galp's announcement on December 16, 2005, Exem Holding AG was created in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. This company became the following year the majority shareholder of Exem Energy BV based in the Netherlands. It is this vehicle that officially buys from Sonangol 40% of the shares in Esperaza Holding BV on December 29, 2006. The sole beneficiary of Exem Holding AG is not Isabel dos Santos, but her husband Sindika Dokolo, informs several contracts, declarations and letters contained in the "Luanda Leaks".
When the company of the Congolese businessman formally signs the contract with Sonangol, the Angolan oil company has just increased its shares in Galp. " The purchase and sale contract dates from December 2006, but the Memorandum of understanding which enshrines the tripartite investment Amorim-Exem-Sonangol in Galp dates from January 2006 ", justifies Mr. Dokolo before adding: " Besides , I am a director of the company from March or April 2006. So it is not frankly hidden. However, it will take four years for Global Witness to reveal this closeness between Esperaza Holding BV, Galp and the presidential family. In a report dated 2010, the NGO denounces the place occupied by the son-in-law of president dos Santos on the board of directors of Amorim Energy as representative of the joint venture with Sonangol, Esperaza Holding BV.
Even if Sindika Dokolo denies it, doubt remains about the true owner of Exem Holding AG. Several internal and public documents attribute the participation in Galp to Isabel dos Santos herself. “ In the energy sector, a company belonging to Ms. Isabel dos Santos is part of a joint venture with Sonangol through which it has a stake in Amorim Energia BV, a Dutch company also owned by the group Américo Amorim ”, Can we read in one of its CVs dated December 16, 2013. The same year, the Portuguese competition authority mentioned it in one of its decisions dated August 26 relating to Unitel SA and financial investments of “Ms. Isabel dos Santos”: “ She owns less than 50 % of Esperaza Holding BV (company whose remaining shares are held by Sonangol), which in turn owns 45 % of Amorim Energia BV, main shareholder of Galp, SGPS, SA (with 38.4%) ”.
Equity investment not reimbursed for more than a decade
In the wonderful world of Esperaza Holding BV, we wonder about the best way to maximize our tax optimization in the middle of a board meeting. September 20, 2011, at the company's premises in Amsterdam on Fred. Roeskestraat, Sindika Dokolo is not present, but represented. There is also a delegate from Sonangol. Mr. Henriques "informs" his partners that the state-owned company has " established a company under the laws of the British Virgin Islands [Editor's note: tax haven]" and " could transfer its stake in the Company [Editor's note: Esperaza Holding BV] to this new company due to the ineffectiveness of the tax system applied to the current structure ”. The representative of the state oil company also mentioned the creation of a financial vehicle in Malta. " On the basis of a treaty with Malta, the Dutch tax authorities can levy a tax if the transfer of shares takes place only for reasons of tax evasion, " replied one of their Dutch tax lawyers. This is revealed by the minutes of this meeting contained in the "Luanda Leaks".
For Exem Holding AG, the business is most profitable. Officially, Sonangol had paid 189 million euros to enter the capital of Amorim Energia. To obtain 40% of Esperaza's shares, Sindika Dokolo's company would have had to pay the state-owned oil company 75 million, but pay only 11. This debt still runs eleven years later.
In October 2017, José Eduardo dos Santos is no longer president, his daughter Isabel is about to lose the head of Sonangol and Sindika Dokolo's company pays off this debt in kwanza, a currency that depreciates almost every day. Even more at the Sonangol of Isabel dos Santos, at the official rate on October 17, 2017, the date of payment, the Congolese businessman should have paid with interest 72.8 million or 14.2 billion kwanzas, pointe l 'Luanda Leaks' investigation. His company Exem Holding AG only pays 11.8 billion, a “discount” of around 2.4 billion kwanzas (12 million euros), was able to establish the survey coordinated by ICIJ. “ In any case, the 11 billion was the last balance, including interest. We had already paid 15 % of the share price on December 18, 2006. This probably explains this difference, ”says Sindika Dokolo.
When the new management of Sonangol reproaches Mr. Dokolo for the choice of currency and claims payment in euros, the latter refuses. At the microphone of RFI, the husband of Isabel dos Santos explains: " Sonangol was in near cessation of payment and asked us to advance the repayment periods which were normally expected a year later, we negotiated and got to pay this amount in kwanza. He does not allow himself to be dismayed and accuses Sonangol of having made him lose $ 20 million due to the devaluation, by sending him the money four months later. “ In addition, we are partners in a vehicle in which we have holdings which are well worth this amount. We have already proposed possibly to make a payment by transfer of shares ”, he assures. The non-repayment of this loan is one of the reasons put forward by the Angolan courts, on December 23, 2019, to seize the assets of the couple and one of their associates.
Sonangol siphoned off by front companies ?
To everyone's surprise, almost two years earlier, on February 25, 2018, at the annual Sonangol meeting, the successor of Isabel dos Santos, Carlos Saturnino, made very serious allegations against the daughter of the now former head of state. The new CEO of Sonangol bluntly accuses him of being paid - via front companies - some 135 million dollars in public money between November 2016 and November 2017. Revenge may seem tasty for this history of the State oil company which had been dismissed by " engineer Isabel " when he took power.
It was however in his time that the discreet company Wise Intelligence Solutions Limited was hired to think about the restructuring of the state oil company. In his speech, Carlos Saturnino also cites it in his list of offshore companies linked to Isabel dos Santos. “Wise” is based in Malta, an expensive financial center at the heart of the Santos-Dokolo backs.
In an email dated October 19, 2015, Antonio Fernandès, CFO of Fidequity, one of their management companies based in Portugal, explains it to one of his colleagues: “ Wise Intelligence Solutions Limited is owned by Wise Intelligence Solutions Holding Limited which itself belongs to the engineer Isabel ”. Dividends have to be paid to her, he says. The president's daughter is copied from the exchanges relating to the signing of the first consultancy contract for Wise Intelligence Solutions with the Ministry of Finance responsible for this reform. Nothing is really hidden. The envelope is 8.5 million euros for a company which for three years records losses of several thousand euros each year without its directors have " so far made a decision on the future of this company ", Can we read in one of the annual accountability reports contained in the" Luanda Leaks ".
Companies " without know-how " or " with added value "
In 2016, the “future” of Wise Intelligence Solutions Limited seems secure. Thanks to the payments made by the Angolan State, the company posts a balance sheet of 4 million euros of profits. Why ? Fidequity chief financial officer Antonio Fernandès also explains it to one of the Maltese accountants: " The Solange project is a project which aims to restructure Sonangol, the Angolan oil company and this reform is coordinated by Wise Limited with other companies like Vda, BCG, PwC, ... ”The Maltese accountant, Roberto Micallef of HRM International Ltd, had asked him on May 16, 2016 for letters of agreement and agreements from his subcontractors, since " Wise does not have the necessary know-how and skills " to fulfill the contract with the Angolan State. No one, not even PriceWaterhouseCoopers, seems to have any complaints about this transaction. The American audit giant even gets close to a quarter of a million to advise the company of the president of the board of directors of Sonangol.
For Mr. Dokolo, the central position occupied by Wise Intelligence Solutions Limited is justified: “ Wise, Almerk or any other related company that charges for a service bring real added value. The Congolese businessman details: " Manage, structure financing, restructure debts, source specific skills, define and support the implementation of new processes. It is real added value that has a cost and deserves remuneration. "
Under the chairmanship of his wife, the "Wise" contract was transferred to the first company Ironsea Consulting DMCC. The latter will change its name in August 2017 and become Matter Business Solutions DMCC a few weeks before the general elections in Angola and the end of the last mandate of José Eduardo dos Santos. This consultancy firm, according to the Angolan government, cost Sonangol $ 131 million in one year, of which almost $ 58 million just around the date of dismissal of Isabel dos Santos. According to a document obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, it belongs to a friend of the Princess of Angola, Paula Cristina Fidalgo Carvalho das Neves Oliveira.
In a letter dated March 8, 2018 and addressed to his successor Carlos Saturnino, Isabel dos Santos claims to have no stake in this company and that the amounts of fees paid to the consultants before his arrival were even higher. " I want to denounce the way in which the departure of the consultants took place, marked by aggressiveness and lack of professionalism ", had even accused the daughter of the former president.
These 715,000 internal documents reveal the complexity of the financial arrangements, the lack of transparency and control and above all highlight the work of dozens of intermediaries, managers or nominees like Mario Filipe Leite Moreira da Silva, the trusted man Portuguese from Isabel, from all the boards of directors, from Wise Limited to Esperaza, a former member of Amorim. When the Angolan courts decided to freeze the assets of Isabel dos Santos and Sindika Dokolo on December 23, 2019, they did not forget to include him among the targeted people. It is one of the pillars of the empire.
The Amorim group is not to be outdone. According to these confidential documents, between 2006 and 2016, two or more of its subsidiaries obtained at least ten million dollars in consultancy fees. Ironically, it is the Portuguese Vasco Pires Rites, member of the board of directors of Fidequity and close to Isabel, who takes offense, calling these fees " disproportionate and unacceptable ", higher than " the sum of salaries of members of Galp's management committee in 2012 ”. The current CEO of the Portuguese energy company replies that they are " fair compensation because of the services provided ". The explanation does not seem to be enough for the close collaborator of Isabel dos Santos and Sindika Dokolo. " These fees must be considered as having been stolen from the other shareholder ", Esperaza Holding BV
Response rights
Mr. Sindika Dokolo agreed to grant an interview to RFI to respond to the main allegations arising from the investigation of the "Luanda Leaks".
Among the other personalities mentioned, neither the Fidequity financial director, Antonio Rodrigues nor any other employee of this company did not respond to the various requests from ICIJ. This is also the case for Mr. Mario Filipe Leite Moreira da Silva , director of several of the couple's companies.
On the same subject
"Luanda Leaks": for Sindika Dokolo, "there is a will to harm us"
The "Luanda Leaks" or the exposure of the Santos-Dokolo ecosystem
"Luanda Leaks": Sindika Dokolo, her empire in the shade of the Santos backs
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