The “protection” that JL has been providing to EDELTRUDES COSTA (EC), restricting his exposure to the political and criminal consequences of the alleged involvement in corruption cases, is essentially due to features of his profile that make him important in the operation of the power system (AM 1269).

The logic of such “protection” follows that which in the past led JOSÉ EDUARDO dos SANTOS (JES) to pressure Portugal to prevent the trial of MV by Portuguese courts. Aspects of State corruption in Angola, including its transversality, reflected in the high number and diversity of senior leaders involved in it, will have created among them a perception according to which a complete revelation of what has happened tends to undermine the regime itself.

The way in which asset recovery policies are being designed with the aim of arresting companies/ businesses surreptitiously financed with public goods (Sonangol, in particular), but then passed to private ownership, has become a new factor in discouraging private investment.

The perception of the ability of the PGR and the judicial system to conduct an anti-corruption effort capable of effectively countering the elite's tendency to appropriate state assets has been declining in political and diplomatic circles.

Due to the “serious situation” in the sector, the official inauguration of the new Intercontinental Hotel, Luanda, is seen in business circles as an act only determined by the “political convenience” of justifying the arrest of the private company, with connections to ISABEL DOS SANTOS, who promoted its construction. READ MORE