Angola: Isabel dos Santos’, general Dino’s stakes in Unitel telecoms nationalised

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Angola: Isabel dos Santos’, general Dino’s stakes in Unitel telecoms nationalised

6:02 CAT | 28 Oct 2022

File photo: DW

The Angolan president has transferred to the state, via nationalisation, the Vidatel and Geni stakes in Angolan telecoms operator Unitel, which were held by businesswoman Isabel dos Santos and General Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento “Dino”.

In practice, the Angolan state now owns all of Unitel’s share capital, as each stake was equivalent to 25% and the remaining 50% was already controlled by state oil company Sonangol.

The announcement was made on Wednesday via the official Facebook page of the Angolan presidency, which justifies the presidential decisions with the “exceptional public interest” of Unitel for the state, taking into account its strategic position in the sector, on the one hand, and the legal actions against part of the shareholders of Vidatel (Isabel dos Santos) and the strong restrictive measures at home and abroad against the effective beneficiary of Geni (General ‘Dino’).

However, both Isabel dos Santos and General ‘Dino’ had already lost shareholder control of these stakes and were not receiving dividends from Unitel, after their respective shares were seized by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) in January of this year.

In the case of Isabel dos Santos, the businesswoman and daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos lost control of Vidatel in December 2020, by a decision of the Supreme Court of the British Virgin Islands where that company was registered and was represented at general meetings by a trustee from that jurisdiction According to weekly newspaper Expansão, General Dino had also dissolved and liquidated his share before it was seized by the PGR.

The operator has never clarified who its current shareholders are.

In the decree formalising the nationalisation of Vidatel, Joao Lourenço said that there were lawsuits pending against some of the shareholders, making it difficult to establish business relations and deteriorating the company’s financial situation.
In relation to Geni, the decree noted that “the beneficial owner is subject to heavy restrictive measures at home and abroad,” and is subject to sanctions from the US Foreign Assets Control department.

In both cases, “all possibilities of agreement with the target shareholder have been exhausted” and another shareholder has agreed, “and the appropriation is therefore considered to be the most appropriate, necessary and proportionate means of safeguarding the legal position of the company and guaranteeing the interests of the state”.

The shares appropriated through the presidential decree are “transmitted to the State independently of any formalities, free of any encumbrances or charges, being enforceable against third parties after registration.”

They will be managed by the Instituto de Gestão de Ativos do Estado ( IGAPE – the State Assets Management Institute), and the Finance Ministry will be responsible for paying compensation, “when and if due, under the terms of the law.”

Source: Lusa