Angola Seizes Assets of Allies of Former President Dos Santos

(Bloomberg) -- Angolan prosecutors have seized assets belonging to two of former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’s closest aides, the latest step in a crackdown on corruption in the southern African country.

Assets including a brewery and a vehicle assembly plant held by general Manuel Helder Vieira Dias, known as Kopelipa, and Leopoldino do Nascimento, known as Dino, were taken, Angola’s Prosecutor’s Office said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Other assets that were seized included shares in a sugar plant and supermarket chain, a cement factory and buildings and residences.

The Wall Street Journal this month cited Angolan President Joao Lourenco as saying the previous regime and its associates siphoned off $23.79 billion from the state, mostly through fraudulent contracts with government-owned companies. Among the targets of the corruption probe are Dos Santos’ children.

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