Africa-Press – Angola. The former chairman of the board of directors of Sonangol and coordinator of cooperation relations between Angola and China between 2004 and 2008, Manuel Vicente, confirmed to the court that Sonangol bought 22 buildings in the Vida Pacífica urbanization, in Zango 0, now in the province of Icolo and Bengo, from the company China International Fund (CIF), to accommodate its employees, but says he is unaware of any involvement in the business of generals Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior “Kopelipa” and Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento “Dino”.
Manuel Vicente says he was never aware that the buildings sold in Vida Pacifica to Sonangol were the same ones that the state oil company financed for the construction of Zango 0, as stated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP).
Manuel Vicente’s statements were made to the National Directorate of Investigation and Criminal Prosecution (DNIAP), a body of the Attorney General’s Office, in August and November 2020, but were read out at a trial hearing this Tuesday, due to the former Vice President being absent from the country.
Manuel Vicente stated that Generals “Kopelipa” and “Dino” are not partners in CIF-Angola, the company identified by the prosecution as responsible for selling the buildings to Sonangol, which allegedly financed them.
According to Manuel Vicente, it was he, as CEO of Sonangol, who authorized SONIP, a company belonging to the national oil company, to purchase 24 buildings from CIF to house its employees.
In his statements, Manuel Vicente says he is unaware that the National Reconstruction Office (GNR) had signed a contract with the Chinese for the construction of these 22 buildings, the payments for which were all made by Sonangol, which later purchased the same buildings, as stated in the MP’s indictment.
According to the former Vice-President of the Republic, the defendant Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento “Dino” was only called to help in the restructuring of the company CIF, in Angola, under the guidance of the then President José Eduardo dos Santos.
Along with Kopelipa and Dino, two former confidants of President José Eduardo dos Santos, businessmen Yiu Haiming, Fernando Gomes and the companies Plansmart International Limited, Utter Right International Limited and China International Fund (CIF) are also on trial.
Novo Jornal learned that this Wednesday, the 9th, as part of the trial of this high-profile case, the judges went to Vida Pacifica to visit the buildings, which, according to Novo Jornal sources, many of are already inhabited and sold.
The trial of Generals “Kopelipa” and “Dino”, accused of embezzlement, fraud, document forgery, criminal association and abuse of power, continues next week with the hearings of five witnesses named in the case.
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