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José Filomeno dos Santos

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José Filomeno dos Santos
Born (1978-01-09) 9 January 1978 (age 46)[1]
Luanda, Angola
NationalityAngolan
Other namesZenú
Alma materUniversity of Westminster
Board member ofFundo Soberano de Angola
SpouseMaíra Fernandes
Parent(s)José Eduardo dos Santos and Filomena Sousa
RelativesIsabel dos Santos (sister)
Coréon Dú (brother)

Jose Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos (born 9 January 1978) is an Angolan businessman, and the son of Angola's former President José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979 to 2017.[2] He was the chairman of Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA), Angola's sovereign wealth fund, was appointed to the board in 2012,[3] and succeeded Armando Manuel as Chairman in June 2013.[4]

Following the election of President João Lourenço, dos Santos was dismissed from his position before the end of his term.[5][6] His sister Isabel was also removed as head of the state-owned oil company Sonangol Group, which the International Monetary Fund in 2011 asked to account for a missing US$32 billion.[7][8] The country derives about 60% of its revenues from oil.[9]

Following his dismissal, Dos Santos was arrested in connection with the authorisation of a transfer of $500 million to a British bank, which froze the funds,[6] among other charges of "criminal organization, illegal enrichment, money laundering and corruption".[10] He was released in March 2019.[11]

The transfer is reportedly part of negotiations for a $30 billion concessional lending facility for Angola, the money being returned to the country’s central bank.[12][13]

The move to criminalise the loan negotiations with foreign lenders is seen as a means to undermine the political clout of the previous administration with the populace while at the same time shore up support for the new administration within the ruling party MPLA. The case has revealed the existence of a previously unheard of political tug-of-war in a country under political transition.[14]

Dos Santos' father, former president José Eduardo dos Santos, lived in Barcelona.[15][16]

In August 2013, dos Santos was ranked at number 26 out of the top 100 wealth fund chiefs in the world. The rankings are an annual measurement process run by The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute and display a desire to diversify the economy of a nation highly dependent on its petroleum exports.[17][18]

Dos Santos appeared on 9 December 2019 before the Supreme Court in Luanda, the capital, along with three co-defendants, who are also accused of money laundering and embezzlement, one of which is former governor of the central bank Valter Filipe da Silva.[citation needed]

Angolan justice sentenced dos Santos to five years in prison on 14 August 2020 for fraud, money laundering and trading in influence.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Zenú dos Santos Profile". Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  2. ^ England, Andrew (7 July 2013). "Angola fund chief José Filomeno dos Santos rebuffs nepotism charge". Financial Times. Johannesburg. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  3. ^ Foundation, Thomson Reuters. "INTERVIEW-Angola wealth fund head denies plan to succeed president, his father". news.trust.org. Retrieved 2017-07-10. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ "Angola names president's son to chair $5 bln sovereign wealth fund". LISBON: Reuters. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Angola sacks ex-president's son from fund". 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
  6. ^ a b "José Filomeno dos Santos named suspect in $500m fraud case". BBC. March 26, 2018.
  7. ^ Leslie Wroughton (January 20, 2012). "IMF finds most of Angola's missing $32 bln". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014.
  8. ^ Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, is told to prove her worth thetimes.co.uk. From 24 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Angola : First Review of the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for a Waiver of Nonobservance of a Performance Criterion, and Modifications of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Angola". International Monetary Fund. June 2019.
  10. ^ Antonio Cascais (September 26, 2018). "Angola: The fall of the dos Santos clan". Deutsche Welle.
  11. ^ "Former Angolan president's son freed from prison". Mail & Guardian. Agence France-Presse. March 25, 2019.
  12. ^ Eisenhammer, Stephen. "Britain says $500 million from alleged fraud can be returned to Angola". Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  13. ^ Editorial, Reuters. "Angola charges son of ex-president dos Santos with fraud". Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ "Angola's Dos Santos wants new MPLA leader chosen in Dec or April 2019". Reuters. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  15. ^ Herculano Coroado, "Angola's dos Santos calls end to 38 years in power", Reuters, 3 February 2017.
  16. ^ Estelle Maussion (31 August 2019). "Life after power: the bitter exile of Angola's ex-president Dos Santos". Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Public Investor 100". The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. August 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-09-22.
  18. ^ "José Filomeno dos Santos ranked in top 30 of global sovereign wealth fund leaders" (PDF). Fundo Soberano de Angola. 14 August 2013.
  19. ^ "Angolan ex-president's son José Filomeno dos Santos bags 5-years in jail for $500m fraud". Sellbeta Blog.
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