José Filomeno dos Santos

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José Filomeno dos Santos (born January 9, 1978 in Luanda , Angola ; also called Zénu ) is an Angolan businessman and son of the long-time President José Eduardo dos Santos . The former chairman of the Angolan state fund Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDA) is being investigated for corruption and money laundering .

childhood

Dos Santos was born in Luanda on January 9, 1978 to José Eduardo dos Santos and his secretary Filomena de Sousa. He grew up in the first years of his life in the house of his maternal grandparents on rua Porto Alexandre. He attended the Ngola Kanini primary school (formerly João Crisóstomo primary school) near the French high school and the Portuguese school and then switched to the secondary school Juventude em Luta . At the age of 12 he moved with his mother to Stockholm , when she worked there as a secretary for the Angolan embassy, ​​then to London , where the mother worked in the same position.

Education

He studied electrical engineering at the University of Westminster , graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, and then earned a Masters degree in finance and information systems management.

Career

After Jonas Savimbi's death , dos Santos returned to Angola in 2002. He found his first job with AAA, Sonangol's insurance company . In 2005 he moved to the private sector to work for the consulting firm Quantum Global and, with a business partner, founded Banco Quantum , the first Angolan investment bank , renamed Banco Kwanza Invest in 2010 , and was a board member of the bank. He also built up the African Innovation Foundation based in Zurich . In June 2013 he became the new chairman of the State Fund FSDA and to the manager of 5-billion US dollars , of which the Fund has appointed. In that capacity, he was listed as 26th of the 100 Most Powerful Wealth Fund Chairs by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute . His appointment also aroused criticism, as it was often interpreted as a measure by the then President dos Santos to maintain power and prepare a dynasty at the head of Angola. José Filomeno dos Santos countered these allegations by citing his expertise in the financial sector and denying that his appointment was a political decision. In December 2016 it was surprisingly announced that José Eduardo dos Santos would not run for another term as Angolan president in 2017. This also made speculations about a possible transfer of power to his son obsolete. On September 26, 2017, João Lourenço was sworn in as the new President of Angola.

Corruption allegations

The new President Lourenço is making a determined fight against widespread corruption in Angola one of the priorities of his presidency. In addition, after being sworn in, he quickly began to suppress the influence of the previously extremely powerful dos Santos family. In January 2018, José Filomeno dos Santos was removed from office. As early as March, he was charged with various allegations, including money laundering, corruption, fraud and the formation of a criminal organization. The foundation's published balance sheets show that in 2014 alone, José Filomento dos Santos paid consultancy fees of US $ 117 million to bogus companies abroad that belong to the Quantum Global bank of his business partner Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais . The Panama Papers also revealed that he made a transfer of $ 100 million from the Foundation's account to a mailbox company founded by Mossack Fonseca , whose owner is unknown. At the center of the investigation, however, was a $ 500 million payment to a UK bank that was frozen by UK authorities and the dos Santos foundation that was being investigated as a possible money laundering tool. As part of the process dos Santos has been in custody taken. He was released from this in March 2019, but was not allowed to leave the country as a judgment against him in several trials is still pending. The trial began in Luanda on December 9, 2019. On February 19, 2020, the Angolan Supreme Court confirmed the authenticity of the signature of José Eduardo dos Santos on an official letter authorizing the transfer of the US $ 500 million from the Banco Nacional de Angola to the British bank, with the Aim to establish a guarantee fund for investments in Angola., The Angolan judiciary sentenced José Filomeno dos Santos to five years in prison on August 14, 2020 for fraud, money laundering and influence.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomson Reuters Foundation: INTERVIEW-Angola wealth fund head denies plan to succeed president, his father. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .
  2. ↑ User: Iceland09 . In: Wikipedia . October 14, 2019 ( wikipedia.org [accessed October 16, 2019]).
  3. ^ Angola charges son of ex-president dos Santos with fraud . In: Reuters . March 26, 2018 ( reuters.com [accessed October 16, 2019]).
  4. ^ Angolan ex-leader's son accused of fraud . March 26, 2018 ( bbc.com [accessed October 16, 2019]).
  5. ^ Agency: Former Angolan president's son freed from prison. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Angola: The deep fall of the dos-Santos clan | DW | 09/26/2018. Retrieved October 16, 2019 (German).
  7. ↑ José Filomeno dos Santos: Son of Angola's ex-leader in 'extraordinary' trial bbc.com , December 9, 2019, accessed December 10, 2019
  8. ↑ Tribunal confirma autenticidade da carta de José Eduardo dos Santos no caso 500 milhões voaportugues.com , February 19, 2020, accessed on February 28, 2020 (Portuguese)
personal data
SURNAME Santos, José Filomeno dos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zénu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Angolan businessman
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH Luanda