THE ENABLERS
Western advisers helped an autocrat’s daughter amass and shield a fortune
Isabel dos Santos created a shell empire to move tainted billions — lawyers, accountants and consultants made it possible.
An ICIJ Investigation
Luanda Leaks
How two decades of corrupt deals made Isabel dos Santos Africa’s wealthiest woman and left oil- and diamond-rich Angola one of the world’s poorest countries. Read more.
EXPLAINER
From Colonization to Kleptocracy: A history of Angola
By Antonio Cucho Gamboa
Jan 16, 2020
VIDEO
Watch: Luanda Leaks is a ‘global story’
By Scilla Alecci
Jan 19, 2020
KEY FINDINGS
5 reasons why Luanda Leaks is bigger than Angola
By Ben Hallman
Jan 21, 2020
LUANDA LEAKS
How Africa’s richest woman exploited family ties, shell companies and inside deals to build an empire
By Sydney P. Freedberg
Jan 19, 2020
THE ENABLERS
Western advisers helped an autocrat’s daughter amass and shield a fortune
By Ben Hallman
Jan 19, 2020
DATA JOURNALISM
Explore: How to build a business empire
By Delphine Reuter
Jan 15, 2020
- Two decades of unscrupulous deals made Isabel dos Santos Africa’s wealthiest woman and left oil- and diamond-rich Angola one of the poorest countries on Earth.
- A web of more than 400 companies and subsidiaries in 41 countries are linked to Isabel dos Santos or her husband, Sindika Dokolo, including 94 in secrecy jurisdictions like Malta, Mauritius and Hong Kong.
- Hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and contracts were directed to dos Santos' companies.
- A cadre of Western business advisers moved money, set up companies, audited accounts, suggested ways to avoid taxes and turned a blind eye to red flags that experts say should have raised serious concern.
- Two firms, PwC and Boston Consulting Group, together earned more than $5.6 million between 2010 and 2017 for services provided to dos Santos and Dokolo companies.
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