By RFPosted on 10-12-2019Modified on 10-12-2019 at 01:05

The trial of the son of former president Eduardo dos Santos opened on Monday (December 9th) in Luanda. José Filomeno dos Santos, 41, former head of the Angolan sovereign investment fund and his three alleged accomplices appear for "embezzlement and money laundering".

This is the first trial against a family member of the former president who reigned supreme over this country for 38 years. A son of Eduardo Dos Santos judged by the Supreme Court of the Angolan capital, the image is unpublished. At his side in the box of the accused, three alleged accomplices including the former governor of the country's central bank, Valter Felipe da Silva.

The courts blame them for having, when they were in business, illegally transferred $ 500 million from the central bank to the London account of an agency of Credit Suisse in the context of a large fraud operation that would have allowed to divert up to 1.5 billion dollars, according to the public prosecutor's office.

The indictment read Monday at the hearing suspects them of wanting to " get rich personally with the money of the state ." And explains that this attempted fraud would have been made into a plan that would allow Angola to receive $ 35 billion in funding.

A highlight of this first hearing, the lawyer of the former governor of the central bank has created a surprise by asking that former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos be heard as a witness in this trial. Explaining that his client acted "out of obedience to his hierarchy ". The presiding judge has not ruled on this request yet.

The former governor of the central bank and Filomeno dos Santos were appointed to their positions by the former president and then dismissed by the new Joao Lourenço, who, since taking office, ousted most of his predecessor's relatives. at the head of the country's financial institutions and major corporations , in the name of fighting corruption.

A symbol of this cleansing, José Filomeno dos Santos's half-sister, Isabel, was ousted in November 2017 from the position of CEO of the national oil company, Sonangol. Presented as the richest woman in Africa, she is also being investigated for embezzlement.

    On the same subject

    DRC: Discussions on the repatriation of Rwandan M23 ex-combatants

    DRC: Congolese refugees leave Angola with UNHCR support

    Angola: save-who-can in the family dos Santos

    comments