[ad_1]
The son of former Angolan president, José Eduardo dos Santos, who faces charges of fraud, will remain in detention for another 25 days, a court said.
The Supreme Court (SC) issued its decision on Wednesday after the expiry of the initial 45-day detention period for José Filomeno dos Santos, aka Zenú.
Private property O País The newspaper quotes a judicial notification sent to the lawyer of Mr. Zenú, Mr. Benja Satula, that custody would be extended by 25 days renewable, to allow the conclusion of investigations.
"We are surprised because we have respected the conditions of the court" O País quoted Mr. Satula.
"We would like Mr. José Filomeno dos Santos to be released because there was no reason to extend his detention," he added.
Mr. Zenú was arrested in September in São Paulo prison in Luanda, following his arrest.
A statement from the Attorney General's office said that the retired president's son would be taken to court to face charges related to suspicious commercial transactions.
He was arrested alongside his associate, Jean Claude Bastos de Morais.
Mr. Zenú is at the center of the presumed transfer of $ 500 million from the Angolan sovereign wealth fund, which he previously ran.
The money would have been transferred from the Angolan reserve to Credit Suisse Bank in the United Kingdom.
The AG's office said the arrests followed investigations that, although still ongoing, had provided enough evidence implicating the two accused.
In March, the Angolan authorities banned Mr. Zenú from leaving the country for fraud.
President João Lourenço embarked on an anti-corruption crusade in which several close associates of his predecessor were involved in wrongdoing.
He took office last August after an election marking the end of President dos Santos's 38-year reign.
President Lourenço fired Mr Zenú as head of the strategic sovereign fund in January.
The president also sacked Isabel dos Santos, the eldest daughter of the former president, as chairman of the board of directors of the national oil company Sonangol.
Ms. Isabel dos Santos, the richest woman in Africa, is currently the subject of several investigations.
Source link
