Angola grabs assets from generals close to former president

Assets seized from the two generals implicated in corruption include a brewery, vehicle assembly plant and a cement factory

CANDIDO MENDES | 15 OCTOBER 2020 | Business Day

Angolan prosecutors have seized assets belonging to two of former president José Eduardo dos Santos’s closest aides, the latest step in a crackdown on corruption in the southern African country.

Assets including a brewery and a vehicle assembly plant held by Gen Manuel Helder Vieira Dias, known as Kopelipa, and Leopoldino do Nascimento, known as Dino, were taken, Angola’s prosecutor’s office said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday.

Other assets that were seized included shares in a sugar factory and supermarket chain, a cement factory and buildings and residences.

The Wall Street Journal in October cited Angolan President Joao Lourenco as saying the previous regime and its associates siphoned off $23.79bn from the state, mostly through fraudulent contracts with government-owned companies.