Isabel dos Santos, the daughter Angola’s former president Jose Eduardo Van Dunem dos Santos, was sanctioned by Britain on Thursday. File Photo by Bruno Fonseca/EPA-EFE
Nov. 21 (UPI) — Britain on Thursday sanctioned Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former president, and two others London called “kleptocrats” as part of a new effort to clamp down on corruption and dirty money.
“These unscrupulous individuals selfishly deprive their fellow citizens of much-needed funding for education, healthcare and infrastructure — for their own enrichment,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.
“I committed to taking on kleptocrats and the dirty money that empowers them when I became Foreign Secretary and these sanctions mark the first step in delivering this ambition.”
By blacklisting dos Santos, Britain joins the United States, which sanctioned the woman once called Africa’s richest woman, in late 2021. She is also the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, issued in 2022.
According to London, dos Santos — whose father former President José Eduardo dos Santos ruled Angola for almost four decades — used her position as the head of state-run companies to embezzle at least $350 million from the country. Her business partner, Paula Oliveira, and chief financial officer, Sarju Raikundalia, were also sanctioned Thursday for aiding dos Santos’ schemes.
In a Portuguese-language statement published on her Instagram account, dos Santos rejected the accusations as being “incorrect and unjustified.”
Claiming she was not offered the opportunity to defend herself, dos Santos denied allegations that she siphoned money from state-run companies under her control.
“I intend to appeal and I hope that the United Kingdom will give me the opportunity to present my evidence and prove these lies manufactured against me by the Angolan regime,” she said.
Dos Santos claims she and her family are the victims of political persecution in Angola, where she is wanted in connection to the hundreds of millions of dollars lost by state-owned oil company Sonangol between 2016 and 2017.
Along with dos Santos, Britain on Thursday sanctioned Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars through his control of gas distribution, and Aivars Lembergs, one of Latvia’s richest people, who allegedly used his position to commit bribery and money laundering.
The sanctions, which include travel bans and asset freezes, come under Britain’s’ Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions regime that was introduced in 2021 and was used for the first time in May to blacklist three Ugandan politicians, including its Parliament speaker, on accusations of stealing from the poor communities they serve.
“This action signals a new chapter in our efforts to tackle the scourge of corruption wherever it occurs,” Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said.