Isabel dos
Santos, the billionaire daughter of Angola's former president, faces personal
involvement in a $400 million lawsuit.
The lawsuit was
filed by Angolan telecoms provider Unitel against her Dutch firm Unitel
International Holdings (UIH), as ruled by London's High Court.
The ongoing
litigation also involves allegations of an "illegal seizure by the Angolan
state of UIH's assets," which dos Santos' attorneys claim has hindered
UIH's ability to repay the loans.
The billionaire
daughter of Angola's former president Isabel dos Santos can be personally
joined to a $400 million lawsuit filed by Angolan telecoms provider Unitel
against a business she controls, London's High
In 2020, Unitel
filed a lawsuit against dos Santos' Dutch firm Unitel International Holdings
(UIH) for loans given in 2012 and 2013 when dos Santos was a director of Unitel
to support UIH's purchase of telecom company shares.
According to
Unitel's attorneys, the loans were not returned, and a balance of almost $395
million plus interest is still owed. Despite sharing a name, the two businesses
are unrelated, and dos Santos, who owns UIH, left his position as a director of
Unitel in 2020.
Dos Santos, the
first female millionaire in Africa, whose father Jose Eduardo dos Santos ruled
Angola for 38 years until 2017, had requested to be personally included in
Unitel's lawsuit against UIH.
Dos Santos
should be included in the current litigation, according to Judge Mark Pelling's
decision on Thursday.
Regarding its
claims that dos Santos had violated her obligations as a director of Unitel, he
claimed that Unitel has a "realistic prospect of success." Dos Santos
"vehemently denies that she has violated any of her director's
duties," according to court documents filed on Tuesday by her attorney
Richard Hill.
Because of its
claimed involvement in the "illegal seizure by the Angolan state of UIH's
assets," according to her attorneys, Unitel is also to blame for UIH's
incapacity to pay. Unitel disputes that it had any part in the asset
confiscation.
Dos Santos has
long been the target of charges of corruption, including those made by Angola
that she and her husband diverted $1 billion in public funds to businesses in
which they had holdings while her father was president, notably Sonangol, the
world's largest oil company.
Her assets in
Angola worth almost $1 billion were confiscated last year, and additional
properties connected to her have been taken in Portugal. Dos Santos, who
purports to reside in Dubai, has categorically refuted all accusations against
her, and her attorneys have called them a "political conspiracy."
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