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| Isabel dos Santos has vowed to “use all the instruments of Angolan and international law” to fight the court order |
Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of
former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has denounced a court order
to seize an estimated $1 billion worth of her assets, terming it “politically
motivated.”
46-year-old Isabel is often described
as Africa’s richest woman, with a fortune estimated at $2.2 billion by Forbes
magazine.
An Angolan court on 23 December
ordered her bank accounts to be frozen and her shares in local companies
seized, according to Angola’s state news agency.
The move is seen as part of President
Joao Lourenco’s anti-corruption drive.
“At a time when it is vital for the
Angolan economy to attract foreign investment, this politically motivated
confiscation order is a bad signal to the private sector,” Isabel wrote on
Twitter.
She vowed to “use all the instruments
of Angolan and international law at my disposal to fight this order and ensure
the truth comes out.”
Towards the end of his tenure, former
president Jose Eduardo dos Santos appointed his daughter Isabel as the head of
Angola’s state-owned oil firm, Sonangol.
Months after Lourenco took power
however, he sacked Isabel from the position.
Other than Isabel, another of dos
Santos’s children is also in court for graft.
Jose Filomeno dos Santos is currently
being tried in Angola for allegedly helping to smuggle $500 million out of the
country when he was head of Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. He denies the
charges. - Africa
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