Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos lost an appeal on Monday to overturn a court order freezing up to £580 million ($778 million) of her assets. The ruling, part of a lawsuit at London’s High Court, stems from a case brought against her by Angolan telecom operator Unitel.
In December, Unitel secured a worldwide freezing order on dos Santos’ assets, which the Court of Appeal upheld on Monday. Dos Santos, Africa’s first female billionaire and the daughter of Angola’s former president, José Eduardo dos Santos, has long faced corruption accusations, which she denies, attributing them to a political vendetta.
Unitel is suing dos Santos over unpaid loans made to her Dutch company, Unitel International Holdings (UIH), in 2012 and 2013. The loans, used to acquire shares in telecom companies, remain unpaid, with approximately £300 million still outstanding. Dos Santos, who resigned from Unitel in 2020, claims that Unitel itself is responsible for UIH’s inability to repay the loans due to its alleged involvement in the unlawful seizure of UIH’s assets in Angola.
