Africa-Press – Angola. Carlos São Vicente’s lawyers deemed the public tender for the privatization of eight hotel units in Angola belonging to the businessman illegal and reiterated their client’s innocence, guaranteeing that the origin of the assets “is legitimate.”
According to the lawyers, the limited competition by prior qualification for the transfer of the right to operate and manage, with an option to purchase, eight hotel units of the IU and BINA chains, promoted by the Angolan Institute for the Management of State Assets and Participations (IGAPE), is “illegal.”
“At its core, this competition is illegal and presents unacceptable flaws. It appears to be based on the criminal proceedings conducted in Angola against Mr. Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, which were deemed by United Nations experts to violate his fundamental rights,” the lawyers say.
In the statement, the defenders of São Vicente, sentenced on March 24, 2022, to nine years in prison for the crimes of embezzlement, tax fraud, and money laundering, state that the competition comes “after the failure, a year ago, of the electronic auction for the sale of the 39 hotels in the IU and BINA chain.”
They recall that, previously, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that the detention of Portuguese-Angolan businessman Carlos São Vicente was arbitrary and called for his immediate release and compensation.
Despite repeated calls from lawyers for his release, the document states, “the Angolan authorities have carried out a veritable campaign of defamation and lies against him, while plundering him and all the companies he founded,” concluding that “this competition falls within this line of action.”
“Mr. São Vicente reiterates that he has never committed any crime and that the origin of his assets is legitimate,” the defense observes, highlighting that the sole legal owner of all the hotels “is the company AAA Ativos LDA, which has never been notified of any sentence.”
“This is, therefore, a third party acting in good faith, not involved in any legal proceedings instituted by the Angolan authorities with a view to seizing or expropriating the properties in question,” the lawyers conclude, calling for an “end to the relentless campaign” against the businessman.
IGAPE closed on Monday the limited competition by prior qualification for the transfer of the right to operate and manage, with an option to purchase, via electronic auction of the aforementioned hotels located in the Angolan provinces of Zaire, Uíje, Lunda Sul, Bengo and Namibe.
In a statement, IGAPE recalls that the application submission period ran from July 7 to 28, and that the competition, part of the Angolan Government’s Privatization Program (ProPriv), aims to attract private operators with the technical and financial capacity for the requalification and sustainable management of the aforementioned assets, previously assigned to the heritage of São Vicente.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
