Banks, telecoms, media, oil: Angola, a family business for the Dos Santos

He is accused of having stripped Angola for his personal enrichment and that of his family: the ex-president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who died Friday in Spain, had placed his family in key positions during his 38 years of undivided rule.

Banks, telecoms, media and especially oil, no sector escaped the dos Santos clan.

« The president has privatized the state for the benefit of his family and a few relatives, » according to opposition journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, who has been denouncing the stranglehold exerted by the powerful family for years.

Here are the main faces of this family « conglomerate »:

Isabel, the daughter
At 49 years of age, Isabel, known in the country as the « princess », has become the embodiment of the dos Santos empire.

Appointed head of the national oil company Sonangol, she was dismissed shortly after her father’s successor and current president, Joao Lourenço, took power in 2017.

Isabel dos Santos defines herself on her Twitter account as an « entrepreneur. » The U.S. magazine Forbes has ranked her as the richest woman in Africa, her personal fortune is estimated at some $3.5 billion.

She controlled the country’s leading cell phone operator until 2020. In Portugal, she also held a 25% stake in the Portuguese company NOS. Part of her fortune was also invested in banks, she sat on the boards of Banco de Fomento Angola, Banco BIC and its Portuguese subsidiary, and especially BFA, number 1 in the sector.

With her husband, the late Congolese businessman Sindika Dokolo, she owned the Swiss luxury jewelry brand De Grisogono.

But this business empire has been largely dismantled since the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) conducted an investigation in 2020 into the dubious origins of her fortune.

She is accused of embezzlement and money laundering as head of Sonangol. A ruling by the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI) last year ordered her to return $500 million in shares to the oil company.

Jose Filomeno, the son
Nicknamed « Zenu, » he was appointed in 2013 to head a $5 billion sovereign wealth fund launched to invest in the development of the country, which, despite its oil windfall, remains one of the poorest in Africa.

Six years later, he was arrested for fraud, money laundering and influence peddling. He was convicted of attempting to embezzle up to $1.5 billion from the fund he oversaw until 2018.

In 2020, he was jailed for five years, making him one of the first family members prosecuted in President Lourenço’s anti-corruption campaign.

« Tchize », the other daughter
Married to a Portuguese businessman, Welwitschia dos Santos, in her 40s, works in the media sector. Nicknamed « Tchize », she has held several positions in the management of the public television station TPA. She also controlled one of the country’s leading advertising agencies.

Less well known than her half-sister Isabel, she was the first Angolan woman to manage a major soccer club, Benfica de Luanda.

After her brother’s conviction, she accused Mr. Lourenço of unfairly prosecuting his family for purely political reasons: « Lourenço is using the children to harm the father, » she told AFP.

• Ana Paula, the wife
  Former air hostess, the second wife of Jose Eduardo dos Santos controls, according to the local press, several companies in the diamond exploitation.

According to the director of the monthly economic magazine Expensao, the economist Carlos Rosado de Carvalho, Ana Paula Cristovao de Lemos, 53 years old, also held 5% of the capital of the Sol bank, in addition to the 10% held through her foundation.