Africa-Press – Angola. The former chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol, Francisco de Lemos José Maria, and the former financial director of Sonangol Imobiliária e Propriedades, Lda (SONIP), Atandel Chivaca, were heard yesterday, in the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, within the scope of the criminal proceedings that have among the defendants the generals Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior “Kopelipa” and Lepoldino Fragoso do Nascimento “Dino”
The statements of the two former high-ranking officials of the national oil company have “debunked” the theory of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP), contained in the indictment, that the aforementioned generals hatched, in the company of engineer Manuel Vicente, former CEO of Sonangol, a plan that allowed them to embezzle more than 500 million dollars from the Angolan State, involving the Vida Pacífica housing project.
Francisco de Lemos, the man who replaced engineer Manuel Vicente as head of the national oil company, after being appointed Minister of State for Economic Coordination, provided clarifications on the agreement signed between this public company and China Sonangol International (CSI), owned by the Sino-British tycoon Sam Pa.
Although he did not specifically address the 27 shipments of oil that the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) alleges, in the indictment, were allegedly diverted from Sonangol by a Chinese company based in Hong Kong, Francisco de Lemos said that, due to the obligations of the State or the national oil company, it is possible that the payment was made into the account of another institution.
As explained in court, when dealing with businesses of this nature, it is not unusual for the payment for oil shipments not to have gone directly into Sonangol’s accounts.
The MP magistrate, Lucas Ramos, revealed, when presenting the accusation, that Sonangol-EP did not receive payment for the oil it supplied to China Sonangol International Holding Limited for three years, because, after this company received the oil, it sold it and kept the money in its bank accounts.
Even before this contract was signed, the Chinese company had already received, in December 2004, two shipments of crude oil from Sonangol-EP, totaling USD 60 million, 612 thousand, 952 and 83 cents. However, this amount was credited, by consignment, to bank account number 012-875-92-29367-2, at the Bank of China Hong Kong Limited, held by China Sonangol International Holding Limited, and Sonangol-EP did not receive it.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, this did not cause concern for the parties involved in this contract, since from 30 January 2006 to 25 October of the same year, several vessels loaded with crude oil were exported from Angola and sold to China Sonangol International Holding Limited, the total sales value of which was USD 610 million, 461 thousand, 895 and 23 cents. The payment was again credited to the above-mentioned account of this Asian company.
“From the aforementioned purchase and sale agreement from 5 December 2004 to 6 November 2007, the company China Sonangol International Holding Limited received a total of USD 1 billion, 598 million, 523 thousand, 528 and 13 cents, without any clear benefit for the Angolan State or SonangolEP itself”, says the MP in the indictment.
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