Africa-Press – Angola. The Supreme Court waived a hearing for Portuguese citizen Paulo Cascão, listed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, representing the State in the case in which, among the defendants, are Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias “Kopelipa” and Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento “Dino”.
The trial hearing of Angolan generals “Kopelipa” and “Dino” was rescheduled for October 22, at the request of their lawyers, to better prepare the final arguments given the complexity of the case, a defense source told Lusa.
According to a statement from the Supreme Court, the hearing was initially scheduled for September 22, but was rescheduled for a month later at the request of the defense.
The Supreme Court has been judging defendants Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior “Kopelipa” and Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento “Dino”, strongmen of former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos (now deceased), since March 10.
According to the source who spoke to Lusa, it was agreed between the lawyers, in the session on August 18, to request 30 days to prepare the final arguments.
“There are many documents in English and Mandarin, and we need to consult the case file to prepare the arguments; there are many volumes. Some of the hearing minutes are also not yet ready; they need to be corrected and signed,” the source said.
The case also has as defendants lawyer Fernando Gomes dos Santos, Chinese citizen Yiu Haiming from China International Fund (CIF), and the companies Plansmart International Limited and Utter Right International Limited.
The companies were allegedly used by the defendants to set up a scheme involving a financing agreement between Angola and China to support national reconstruction after the civil war, which also included the China International Fund and its subsidiaries and Sonangol, whose former president Manuel Vicente is named several times in the indictment.
The co-defendants are accused of embezzlement, fraud, document forgery, criminal association, abuse of power, money laundering and influence peddling.
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