HSBC assist in spotting USD 500 million embezzlement in Angola (not sure what Credit Suisse or Standard Chartered did?)
Angolan authorities charged Jose Filomeno dos Santos (Zenu), the son of the former long-time president Eduardo dos Santos, and Valter Filipe da Silva, a former governor of Angola’s central bank, with embezzling USD 500 million. His sister Isabel currently faces prosecution over similar allegations.
In September 2017 Zenu allegedly transferred USD 500 million from a Standard Chartered account of the Angolan central bank to his own corporate account with HSBC in London.
Forged documents from Credit Suisse were reportedly also implicated in the transaction. In responses to journalists’ requests, Standard Chartered did not explain why the transaction did not trigger alerts from its security mechanisms.
The recipient bank HSBC however reportedly filed a Suspicious Activity Report to the National Crime Agency (NCA), which froze the assets in December 2017 and January 2018. The successful detection by HSBC is attributed to the recent overhaul of the bank’s anti-money laundering compliance procedures.
The NCA explained that following proceedings in a UK court the frozen money would be returned to the Angolan authorities. Angolan authorities commented that Zenu’s case is not eligible for consideration under Angola’s amnesty laws relating to financial wrongdoing or repatriation of overseas funds.
Further facts
1. Zenu’s passport was reportedly confiscated as part of a travel ban, which prohibits him from leaving Angola for the duration of the investigation.
2. Zenu belongs to the once all-powerful dos Santos family. He is the son of Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled mineral-rich Angola from 1979 until 2017, when he stepped down due to poor health. Zenu’s sister Isabel dos Santos is considered the richest woman in Africa with an estimated net worth of USD 3.5 billion.
3. After Angola’s transition to power under the new president Joao Lourenco, the fortunes of the dos Santos clan have turned. Zenu was removed as CEO of Angola’s USD 5 billion sovereign wealth fund in January 2018
4. Isabel lost her post as chair of the state oil company Sonangol in November 2017. As of early March she also faces a probe by Angolan authorities into “irregular financial transfers” reported during her tenure at Sonangol. Specifically, it is suspected that she may have derived illicit benefit from a USD 38 million transfer made by Sonangol to a company in Dubai. The money was transmitted by Banco BIC, where she was a director.
5. Also in March, the ex-president himself announced his resignation from the party leadership of the ruling MPLA.
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