The story of these payments, as told by a Sonangol bank statement and internal report, lies at the centre of an Angolan government investigation into Africa’s richest woman. But the documents show that 18 months after the deal, Sodiam had put $79m into the partnership, while Mr Dokolo had only invested $4m. The files were initially obtained by the anti-corruption charity Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF), which shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). PwC’s work took place while Dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former president, was chair of Sonangol. Critics say audits can be compromised if a firm responsible for checking the books of a business is also receiving often much larger fees for advising that business on matters such as tax schemes, cost-cutting and restructuring. The money was paid to a Dubai consultancy run by a friend, which in turn made payments to well known firms retained to advise Sonangol. “One has to be judged by one’s own work, one’s own merits.”, Available for everyone, funded by readers, Allegations against Africa’s richest woman said to relate to maladministration of funds, Critics says PwC’s work for Angola’s state oil firm raises conflict of interest concerns, Pledge comes as former ruler’s daughter denounces Luanda Leaks investigation. She was sacked from her role in November 2017, soon after her father retired. Wise’s owner was the president’s daughter, Isabel dos Santos. The Luanda Leaks project is based on a trove of 715,000 emails, charts, contracts, audits and accounts detailing the business operations of Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the former president of Angola. The Luanda Leaks reveal PwC acted for at least 20 companies owned by Dos Santos, her husband and their associates. The government took drastic action. José Eduardo dos Santos ruled Angola for 38 years until 2017. A little later another sum, this time $15m, exited, followed by a third for $4m. “There is an orchestrated attack by the current government that is completely politically motivated, it’s completely unfounded,” Dos Santos told BBC News. At the start of the day, the bank account of Sonangol, Angola’s state oil company, had contained $57m. It was assembled by the World Economic Forum, which organises Davos. Da Silva did not respond to repeated requests for comment, though Oliveira said she hired him for his experience running Dos Santos’s company Wise. With oil the keystone of the Angolan economy, responsible for a third of its GDP and 90% of its exports, a bankrupt Sonangol would mean economic catastrophe. Available for everyone, funded by readers, Allegations against Africa’s richest woman said to relate to maladministration of funds, Pledge comes as former ruler’s daughter denounces Luanda Leaks investigation, Displaced residents describe alleged abuses but former president’s daughter denies her plan required evictions.

“To try a person by the virtue of family, of a family bond, that doesn’t fly,” she told the BBC. That contract’s counter-party was a Dubai company, Matter Business Solutions, and Matter’s signatory was a woman called Paula Oliveira. VideoThe turtle 'anthem' protesters sing in Belarus, Berlin airport opens... 10 years late.

The businesswoman denies all wrongdoing and says she is the subject of a “politically motivated witch-hunt”. Recently leaked documents show a loan to buy the jeweller is costing the Angolan government millions of dollars.
Video, Salvaged Victorian signal box to become museum, The turtle 'anthem' protesters sing in Belarus. On 7 November 2017, the head of Sonangol’s London subsidiary was sacked, and the following day a company memo, signed by Dos Santos, announced that a woman called Maria Rodrigues would replace her. De Grisogono is mainly owned by Angola's state diamond firm and Mrs Dos Santos's husband Sindika Dokolo. Dos Santos says the payments were for consultancy work provided by blue chip firms – including PwC. “There is a clear conflict of interest,” said Prem Sikka, a professor at the University of Sheffield, who has advised policymakers on reforming the accountancy sector. She said the contract with Matter was an extension of the arrangement established with her company Wise, coordinating consultancy firms as subcontractors, and was approved by the Sonangol board. Video, Socially distant scares in Tokyo 'haunted house' Video, Socially distant scares in Tokyo 'haunted house', Covid-19: England faces four-week lockdown restrictions, Sean Connery: James Bond actor dies aged 90, Two dead and five wounded in Quebec stabbing, police say. The government only made the commitment to develop proposals on company audit and corporate reporting “including a stronger regulator with all the powers necessary to reform the sector”, without agreeing to set a timetable. Critics says PwC’s work for Angola’s state oil firm raises conflict of interest concerns, Thu 23 Jan 2020 07.41 GMT Candidates in last weekend dash round swing states, Year's most powerful typhoon hits the Philippines, Street kids changing their lives with guitars. Ms Dos Santos denies allegations she enriched herself through corrupt deals when her father was Angola's president. PwC, the global accounting firm battling to distance itself from a financial scandal engulfing Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, was auditing the books of Angola’s state oil company during a period that is now under criminal investigation. Isabel dos Santos (born 20 April 1973) is an Angolan businesswoman, Africa's richest woman and the eldest child of Angola's former President José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979 to 2017.

He controversially appointed his eldest daughter to head the state-owned oil firm Sonangol a year before he stood down. BCG declined to comment on its restructure advice, though it is understood it considered its client to be the Angolan government rather than Dos Santos. Documents from Dubai, obtained by the ICIJ, name Matter’s shareholder as Oliveira. Among the companies audited by PwC are several named in or connected to an asset freeze imposed by Angola’s attorney general in December, on Dos Santos, her husband, an associate and their businesses.
.css-14iz86j-BoldText{font-weight:bold;}A Swiss luxury jeweller linked to Africa's scandal-hit richest woman Isabel dos Santos has filed for bankruptcy. The files reveal extensive use of the biggest global accounting firms by her businesses, with London-headquartered PwC emerging as one of the favoured advisers. The consultancy firms hired via Matter have distanced themselves from Dos Santos. The two can be seen together in Instagram posts, smiling with shared friends, and co-own a call centre business and a restaurant in Angola’s capital, Luanda. Dos Santos has denied all wrongdoing and is confident all allegations against her, including those surrounding Sonangol, will be proven false. BCG declined to comment on its restructure advice, though it is understood it considered its client to be the Angolan government rather than Dos Santos.