The Attorney General of the Republic of Angola guaranteed on Thursday that criminal cases involving Angolan personalities have not come to a standstill and that the Angolan justice system will keep its doors open for dialogue.
Bright Pitta Grós addressed the press on the sidelines of a workshop on asset seizures before magistrates of Angola’s higher courts in Luanda.
Asked about the stage of the trials involving the daughter of former Angolan President Isabel dos Santos and former Vice President Manuel Vicente, both in the crosshairs of the Angolan justice system for alleged corruption: Pitta Grós did not comment on specific cases, which are “covered by judicial secrecy,” but assured that authorities are “working.”
“There are processes that are more complex than others, there are processes that require more international cooperation than others, others require more institutional cooperation, every process has its ‘timing'”he said, adding that “human and material resources are also not enough for everything.”
He also guaranteed that the trials will not be closed without disclosing whether those involved are cooperating, because “every case is different”.
“If an arrest takes place, in principle there is already an imposition, it does not matter whether there is cooperation or not. There are those who, as they say in the slang, get ahead and there are others who don’t do it.”, says Pitta Grós, who justifies that the international cooperation mechanisms are also slow.
“It doesn’t take a day or two, everything has its own rules and we have to comply with the legislation of each of these states. We have kept the door open to continue the dialogue and I believe that sooner or later we will be in a position to provide more information on this,” said the same responsible person.
Isabel dos Santos, who has been issued a red alert by Interpol at the request of Angola, has been living outside her country for several years, as has Manuel Vicente, both of whom are regularly seen in Dubai.
As regards the assets recovered by the State, Helder Pitta Grós said that those arrested or seized have been taken into custody by a faithful custodian, and announced that a third auction for the sale of vehicles will be held soon.
The sale of properties at public auction is also being prepared, he said.
As of this Thursday, the list of assets recovered by the Angolan state included 223 assets, plus 521 seized and 167 confiscated, including money, cars, houses, buildings and shares in companies, among others.
The National Asset Recovery Service details the type of asset, its value and the location where it was recovered, but does not say who its owners were, a situation that Pitta Grós admits could change.
“We are taking the first steps, dealing with issues that have never been dealt with before, and it is normal that some mistakes have been made on our part. It was a good step for us in terms of transparency to announce what we have, what has already happened. has been found. Anyone can go to the website and consult it, but we can see if we can improve our information,” he said.
The workshop, taking place this Thursday and Friday, is part of the PRO.REACT project – Project to Support the Strengthening of the National Asset Confiscation System in Angola, funded by the European Union (EU), and has aims to create an effective system to combat illicit financial flows and contribute to greater economic growth and poverty reduction in Angola.
Asset confiscation is an innovative and effective tool in the fight against corruption and organized crime. However, the practice of asset recovery is complex and requires cooperation and coordination between relevant national and international institutions.
Source: DN
