Isabel dos Santos, the first female billionaire in Africa, has lost a legal battle at London’s High Court against a move to freeze up to 580 million pounds ($735 million) of her assets.
Angolan telecoms company Unitel is suing the Angolan billionaire, whose father Jose Eduardo dos Santos ruled Angola for 38 years until 2017.
At a hearing last month, Unitel requested that the High Court issue a worldwide freezing order on dos Santos’ assets. On Wednesday, Judge Robert Bright granted the request, according to Reuters.
Dos Santos’ Dutch company Unitel International Holdings (UIH) was sued by Unitel in 2020 for loans made in 2012 and 2013, when Dos Santos was a director of Unitel, to finance UIH’s acquisition of telecom company shares.
The loans were not repaid, according to Unitel’s lawyers, and there is still an outstanding debt of over $395 million plus interest.
Isabel dos Santos argues that Angola’s illegitimate seizure of UIH’s assets is the reason Unitel should be held accountable for UIH’s inability to repay the debts.
The millionaire from Angola has also been under investigation for a long time due to accusations of corruption in Angola. She and her spouse have been charged with misusing $1 billion in public funds to support businesses in which they had ownership during her father’s administration, including the massive oil company Sonangol.
Isabel dos Santos denies the allegations, claiming that her assets in Portugal and Angola have been frozen or taken, as a result of a protracted political feud.
She contended that another freezing order was not necessary because her assets had already been seized or frozen in Angola and Portugal, among other nations.
However, Bright said in a written ruling on Wednesday that he did not accept that “the other freezing orders mean that it is not just and convenient for this court to grant a further order”.