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The wealthy businesswoman and daughter of former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos protests the cancellation of a contract awarded to his company Atlantic Ventures by the head of state João Lourenço. This new affair amplifies the already tense fight.
Atlantic Ventures has called the "expropriation" of the Angolan government's decision to withdraw the construction of a deep-water port in Barra do Dande (north-west) along the Atlantic coast. In a statement to which the Agence France Presse (AFP) had access, the wealthy Isabel dos Santos also demanded from the Angolan State "payment of compensation (…), which implies additional costs for the State and therefore for the taxpayer. "
The facts go back to August 2017, a few weeks before the inauguration of João Lourenço, the new Angolan strongman. The state had awarded the deal to Atlantic Ventures, owned by the former president's daughter. This resulted in a $ 1.5 billion state guarantee to enable the company to get the job off the ground.
No Call for Bids
A year later, In June of this year, the new president reversed the decision of his predecessor, repealing it by decree for "failing to comply with the legal provisions" governing public procurement. João Lourenço believes that Atlantic Ventures benefited from the untendered contract.
In turn, the Ministry of Transport found the project's financing plan "not very credible", pointing out that the company of the girl The former head of state had "no experience" in port construction
João Lourenço promised in power to revive the economy and eradicate corruption. Once in business, he fired Isabel dos Santos from his position as CEO of the state-owned oil company Sonangol. She is now accused of embezzlement.
One of her half-brothers, José Filomeno dos Santos, has been ousted from the leadership of the country's sovereign wealth fund and has been charged with "embezzlement". ordered a suspicious bank transfer of $ 500 million.
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