Why Angola had to freeze the personal assets of Africa’s richest woman

Why Angola had to freeze the personal assets of Africa’s richest woman

When an Angolan court froze the assets of Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman it was widely seen as the strongest signal the country’s president, Joao Lourenço’s is intent on cracking down on ending corruption and decades of crony capitalism in the country.

But for Isabel dos Santos, the 46-year-old daughter of former Angolan president, José Eduardo dos Santos the move is part of a concerted campaign to discredit what she often describes to journalists as the self-made success and hard work which made her a billionaire.

Last month, the Angolan court froze the personal bank accounts of dos Santos, her Congolese-born husband Sindika Dokolo and Mario da Silva, chairman of Banco de Fomento Angola, in Angola as well as their stakes in nine Angolan firms—Unitel, Angola’s telecommunications giant, BFA, and smaller ventures including the Candado supermarket chain, a cinema and a mall for owing the state over $1 billion.

Dos Santos, who has long attributed her wealth to hard work, smart investments and business savvy, dismissed the state’s actions as a “politically motivated witch hunt.” One aimed at tarnishing her father’s legacy and the dos Santos name. Her brother, José Filomeno dos Santos, 42, the former chair of the Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, is on trial for allegedly transferring $500 million out of Angola illegally. Her half-sister, Welwitschia, was suspended from parliament for “unjust enrichment.”

Their father, José Eduardo dos Santos, was president of the oil and diamond-rich Angola for 38 years. Just before his last year in office, Jose appointed Isabel head of Angola’s state-owned oil firm, Sonangol EP. When Lourenço succeeded him in 2017, the new president fired her from the post.