Angola which had launched 715 prosecutions for corruption, fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes has recovered assets worth more than $11 billion that were looted from state coffers and hidden abroad, Justice Minister Francisco Queiroz said Thursday.
The authorities have launched 715 criminal proceedings for corruption, fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes, Queiroz said, as reported by the government daily Jornal de Angola.
In the past three years, the government has recovered nearly $11.5 billion (€10.06 billion) in cash and property in Angola and around the world, the Justice Minister said.
Assets have been recovered in Britain, Switzerland, Singapore and Bermuda, among others, he said.
“The total amount seized and recovered, in the country and abroad, is $11,486,042,997.22,” he said.
After taking office in 2017, President Joao Lourenço launched an anti-corruption campaign to recover assets he suspects were misappropriated under his predecessor, Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Dos Santos, 79, was accused of appointing relatives and friends to top positions during his 38 years in office. His daughter Isabel dos Santos is under investigation for alleged embezzlement. She maintains her innocence and denies the charges against her.