Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos has lost her appeal to overturn a freezing order on up to £580 million ($778 million) of her assets in a lawsuit at London’s High Court.
Dos Santos, Africa’s first female billionaire and daughter of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos, is being sued by Angolan telecoms operator Unitel.
The company obtained a worldwide freezing order in December, and the Court of Appeal dismissed her challenge against this on Monday.
Dos Santos, who has long faced corruption allegations in Angola, has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that she is the victim of a political vendetta.
The lawsuit revolves around loans given by Unitel to Unitel International Holdings (UIH) in 2012 and 2013 to finance telecom acquisitions.
Dos Santos, who owns and controls UIH, resigned as a director of Unitel in 2020. Around £300 million of the loans remain unpaid, and Unitel is seeking recovery of the amount.
Dos Santos contends that UIH’s failure to repay the loans is due to Unitel’s involvement in Angola’s alleged unlawful seizure of UIH’s assets, claiming that this is part of a broader “campaign of oppression” against her.
