Angolan President João Lourenço has pardoned around 50 prisoners, including José Filomeno dos Santos, the son of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, who was serving a five-year sentence for embezzlement.
A presidential decree shared on Facebook on Wednesday attributed the pardon to the convicts’ “good behaviour” and the “absence of social danger.”
José Eduardo dos Santos, who passed away in 2022, governed oil-rich Angola for 38 years until 2017. His son, 46-year-old José Filomeno dos Santos, was convicted in 2020 on charges of embezzlement and influence peddling.
The charges stemmed from a fraudulent transfer of $500 million from Angola’s national bank to an account in the United Kingdom. Three others, including the former governor of Angola’s national bank, were also sentenced in connection with the case.
The conviction marked Angola’s first major corruption verdict following the transition of power.
The pardon was linked to Angola’s upcoming 50th anniversary of independence from Portugal, the decree explained, emphasizing its goal of fostering “a climate of harmony, leniency, indulgence, concord, and fraternity.”
Meanwhile, in November, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire businesswoman and daughter of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, as part of a broader anti-corruption campaign.
According to UK authorities, Isabel dos Santos “systematically abused her positions at state-run companies to embezzle at least £350 million ($443 million), depriving Angola of resources needed for critical development.”
Once considered Africa’s richest woman, she is now wanted by Angolan authorities over alleged misconduct in the management of the national oil company, Sonangol, during her tenure between 2016 and 2017.
The Dos Santos family says they are being subjected to a witch hunt.
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