Luanda, May 22, 2025 (Lusa) - The start of the contradictory hearing requested by the defence team of Isabel dos Santos, accused of crimes related to her management at Sonangol, has been postponed, according to a statement signed by the Angolan businesswoman on Thursday.
The contradictory hearing is an optional phase of the process whose objective is "to present evidence and witnesses that dismantle the accusations made by the Attorney General's Office and demonstrate that they lack legal basis," according to the press release accessed by Lusa.
The start of the hearing, initially scheduled for today, has been postponed to a later date, the statement said, without explaining the reasons.
The businesswoman, daughter of former President José Eduardo dos Santos (now deceased), is accused of eleven crimes in the case involving her management of the Angolan state oil company between 2016 and 2017.
The statement signed by Isabel dos Santos refutes some of the allegations against her, namely the "false accusation" that she owns the company Monjasa Trading and sold oil to herself to pay off an alleged tax debt owed by Sonangol in 2017, for which Isabel dos Santos is personally responsible.
"It is important to note that Sonangol's audited reports for 2016 and 2017, approved and ratified by the relevant ministers, do not mention any tax debt. If any taxes were outstanding, they should be collected from Sonangol, not Isabel dos Santos," the document emphasises.
Isabel dos Santos' statement also pointed to procedural violations, namely that 73 witnesses were requested to be heard, but only seven were authorised by the court, "seriously limiting the exercise of the right to a fair hearing and the right to defence".
In addition, "the hearing was scheduled with only one week's notice and the lawyers did not have prior access to the complete case file" and the indictment, which should have been handed over to the judge in February 2024, was only delivered in April 2025, "exceeding the legal deadline of 10 days".
Isabel dos Santos points out that trust in the justice system is based on the separation of powers and the independence of the courts and that "if the truth prevails, the case should be dismissed", avoiding "an unnecessary trial".
Isabel dos Santos is accused of embezzlement, aggravated fraud, abuse of power, breach of trust, document forgery, criminal association, economic participation in business, influence peddling, money laundering, tax fraud and aggravated tax fraud, in a case that also involves Paula Oliveira, her friend and business partner, her former manager and friend Mário Leite da Silva, her former financial administrator at Sonangol Sarju Raikundalia and the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The defendants are alleged to have caused the Angolan state losses of more than $208 million (around €190 million) through unduly paid salaries, sales at a loss, tax fraud, and fraudulent payments to companies.
RCR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
