Isabel dos Santos Africa's richest woman, faces Interpol arrest.
Africa's richest woman Isabel dos
Santos, is facing an embarrassing Interpol arrest following numerous corruption
allegations against her. Her possible Interpol arrest was reported on Friday in
the Portuguese media following a request by the Angolan prosecutor's office.
However, lawyers of the daughter of the former president of Angola insisted
they were unaware of any arrest warrant issued against her. The international police
organization made the arrest warrant public today.
Isabel dos Santos has been fighting corruption allegations against her, including embezzlement and money laundering, during her tenure as head of Angola's national oil company Sonangol. She has consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that the allegations are politically motivated.
Reports showed how the 49-year-old dos Santos made billions of dollars in oil, diamonds, banking, telecommunications and real estate through inside deals, political connections and western collaborators.
21-The government of Angola has frozen her Angolan assets.
Since taking over power from former President José Eduardo dos Santos,
who ruled Angola for thirty-eight years, President João Manuel Gonçalves
Lourenço has taken unprecedented moves to fight corruption. However, very few
people ever imagined that the corruption crusade would ever reach the iron gate
of the dos Santos, regarded as one of the sacred cows. Although the dos Santos
family has failed to explain how they acquired billions of dollars during the
José Eduardo dos Santos reign, nor did Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the
former president, prove how she became Africa's richest woman.
One thing is clear: it is no more Business as usual for the dos Santos family.