On Monday, Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos lost her appeal to lift an order freezing up to £580 million ($778 million) of her assets in a lawsuit at London's High Court, Reuters reported.
Dos Santos, Africa's first female billionaire, whose father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, governed Angola for 38 years until 2017, has been under scrutiny for corruption allegations in Angola for an extended period. She is presently facing legal action from Angolan telecom operator Unitel.
In December, Unitel was granted a worldwide freezing order on dos Santos' assets, and the Court of Appeal upheld that decision on Monday.
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.
Dos Santos has categorically refuted all accusations against her, and her attorneys have called them a "political conspiracy."
The Angolan billionaire has also been under scrutiny for corruption allegations in Angola for an extended period. She has been accused alongside her husband of using $1bn in state funds to finance companies in which they held stakes during her father's presidency, including from oil giant Sonangol.
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.
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