The story of a major scandal involving Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, has laid bare the stark reality that many of the world’s wealthiest do not get rich by playing according to the rules that ordinary entrepreneurs and hard-working people must adhere to. Dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of the former president of Angola, claims to be a self-made businesswoman, but documents investigated by the Guardian newspaper and partners appears to tell a different story about how Dos Santos built a business empire worth an estimated $2bn. “Dos Santos has made her name, and fortune, through key roles and investments in some of Angola’s most important industries. She holds stakes in oil, telecoms and banking, was head of the state’s oil business, and was behind lucrative plans, since scrapped, to redevelop a vast area of Angola’s capital, Luanda,” says the Guardian. But the reality is none of these opportunities and deals are likely to have been hers without the advantage of political capital and clever accountants who have navigated through complex tax and other legislation to park her funds where she pays minimal to no tax. The Luanda Leaks sound a lot like South Africa’s state capture scandal, including common features – not least of all that Dubai protects the corrupt and the captured. Here’s the latest instalment. – Jackie Cameron
By Thulasiwe Sithole
A new investigation from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reveals two decades of unscrupulous deals that made Isabel dos Santos Africa’s wealthiest woman – and left oil- and diamond-rich Angola one of the poorest countries on Earth. Importantly it sets out lessons for other countries grappling with corruption and state capture style theft of the type pulled off by the Gupta family and friends.
The ICIJ says the following lessons have been learned:
1 – Offshore tax havens are still sucking wealth out of countries that need it the most
Malta, the British Virgin Islands and Mauritius are cited among the centres of global wealth accumulation for the rich – and wealth destruction for developing nations. The ICIJ says the use of loopholes stretches from oligarchs, prime ministers, celebrities and criminals to name-brand companies that include Apple and Nike.
“Some governments, including the U.K., have made limited reforms, but Offshore Inc. is relentless,” says the ICIJ which has reportedly uncovered a web of more than 400 companies and subsidiaries in 41 countries linked to Isabel dos Santos or her husband, Sindika Dokolo, including 94 in offshore havens like Malta, Mauritius and Hong Kong.
2 – Accountants do all the dirty work for money launderers – and regulators turn a blind eye
The United States, which has imposed some of the world’s toughest anti-money-laundering laws on banks, has no federal law requiring accountants to vet potential clients or report suspicious activity to law enforcement, the ICIJ points out.
“On paper, European Union rules are far tighter. The EU requires accountants to vet clients and alert national authorities if they suspect a client’s funds ‘are the proceeds of criminal activity.’
“But compliance is spotty: a European Commission study found that accountants are filing just a handful of reports, even as banks file thousands. There’s more: A recent analysis of more than 400 corruption and money-laundering cases documented the involvement of hundreds of professional advisers, including 62 accountancy firms in the United Kingdom,” says the team of investigative journalists.
3 – Enablers like accountants “hurt” real people
Angolan authorities recently froze an estimated $1 billion in dos Santos assets and she is believed to have vast fortunes elsewhere, say the journalists.
“Meanwhile, Angola remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The life expectancy in is just 60, and children die in childbirth at an alarming rate. Hospitals and schools are in disrepair, where they exist at all.'”
In an explicit example of how Dos Santos’ wealth building has harmed Angolans, the ICIJ says thousands of residents of a coastal neighbourhood have been forced out of their homes to make way for a redevelopment project championed by Dos Santos and several of her companies.
4 – Dubai welcomes the world’s dirtiest operators
“One of the most eye-popping revelations of Luanda Leaks is the last-minute transfer of tens of millions of dollars from Angola’s state oil company to one in Dubai, controlled by a Dos Santos friend. ICIJ reporting and independent research shows that the Emirate is increasingly a go-to destination for people looking to hide illicit wealth,” says the ICIJ.
“Where some jurisdictions, like Panama, have become more transparent, Dubai offers companies incorporated and their owners nearly complete secrecy. ICIJ was able to link Dos Santos to Dubai only after we obtained secret documents,” say the investigative reporters.
