In June 2018, Lourenço again targeted Isabel, issuing a presidential decree ordering the termination of a pair of dos Santos era government contracts with two companies involved in the construction of the USD 4.5bn Caculo Hydropower Project, both of which had links to Isabel. One of his first and most high-profile moves was to dismiss Isabel as chairperson of state oil company, Sonangol, a position to which her father, then president, had appointed her the previous year. This formed part of Lourenco’s efforts to reduce the influence of his predecessor and entrench his political authority within the MPLA.
Isabel’s business dealings have come under extensive scrutiny in Angola since 2017 when President Lourenço took office and began to target her economic interests. The report also links Isabel to numerous companies and accounts in Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Switzerland as well as in tax havens in Malta and the British Virgin Islands. Most of these companies are registered in Angola and Portugal and span a range of industries, including energy, banking, telecommunications, diamonds, media, retail, cement and beer.
The investigation, based on a trove of leaked financial and corporate documents, claims the misappropriation occurred through the awarding of public contracts and licences during the dos Santos presidency to companies across the world in which Isabel and husband Sindika Dokolo held shares as well as through the use of offshore accounts. On 20 January, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a global investigative network, released a series of articles based on an investigation dubbed the Luanda Leaks alleging that Isabel had embezzled millions of dollars from Angolan state coffers over the past two decades.
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