Isabel dos Santos refutes the accusations, asserting that she is the victim of a prolonged political vendetta, resulting in the freezing or confiscation of her assets in Angola and Portugal, Reuters reported.
Unitel’s lawsuit
In 2020, Unitel filed a lawsuit against Dos Santos’ Dutch firm Unitel International Holdings (UIH) for loans given in 2012 and 2013 when Dos Santos was a director of Unitel to support UIH’s purchase of telecom company shares.
According to Unitel’s attorneys, the loans were not returned, and a balance of almost $395 million plus interest is still owed. Dos Santos was included in the lawsuit in May.
Isabel dos Santos contends that Unitel bears responsibility for UIH’s failure to repay the loans, attributing it to Unitel’s alleged involvement in the unlawful seizure of UIH’s assets by Angola.
However, Unitel denies any role in the asset seizure and accuses dos Santos of attempting to transform the case into “another battle in a PR war against her father’s successor”, Joao Lourenco.
During Wednesday’s High Court proceedings, Unitel’s lawyer, Paul Sinclair, described the accumulation of dos Santos’ wealth as “a classic tale of kleptocracy (and) corruption.”
Unitel is pursuing a global freezing order to prevent Isabel dos Santos from placing her assets beyond the company’s reach.
Dos Santos, who purports to reside in Dubai, has categorically refuted all accusations against her, and her attorneys have called them a “political conspiracy.”
Hill also claimed that the Angolan freezing order was secured with “fabricated evidence, which included a forged copy of her passport featuring the signature of Bruce Lee.”
The hearing of Unitel’s application is set to conclude on Thursday, with a ruling anticipated at a later date.
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