Dutch company linked to Isabel dos Santos to hand over millions to Angola

A Dutch company, linked to the wealthy ex-daughter of President Isabel dos Santos, is due to return hundreds of millions of dollars in shares to Angolan state oil company Sonangol. This was determined by an international arbitration tribunal.

This is the Dutch company Exem Energy which, according to the International Corsortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), is owned by Dos Santos. The company reportedly embezzled money away from Sanongol, of which Dos Santos was previously in charge.

Specifically, these are controversial transactions from 2006, in which a package of shares was transferred from Sonangol to the Dutch letterbox company.

According to the Dutch Arbitration Institute, which assessed the case on behalf of the International Court of Arbitration, this transaction was illegal. Sonangol should therefore recover the shares, said the arbitrators. The Exem talks about a political process and says he will appeal the decision.

richest woman

The Exem case is certainly not the only charge against Dos Santos. According to NGOs, the “richest woman in Africa” got rich in an obscure way, in part thanks to her father’s presidency. In 2017, he resigned from his post as Angolan head of state after 38 years; his successor sacked Dos Santos as director of Sonangol.

loyalty described last year how the daughter of former President José Eduardo dos Santos does business in oil, telecommunications and diamonds through Dutch letterbox companies. By constantly transferring assets to other management offices, supervisors lost interest out of sight.

Angola seized the assets of Dos Santos for $ 1.1 billion in its own country. The Dutch public prosecutor also makes criminal investigation to suspicion of corruption via the Dutch BV.