This is because, that year, Angola was placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list, which reflects the difficulties the country faces in effectively monitoring financial flows, particularly with regard to money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Since then, legislation has been introduced which is essentially aimed at helping the country to be removed from this enhanced monitoring list; this includes specific amendments to the Law on Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, as well as changes to the framework governing non-governmental organisations and the law on the legal regime for the beneficial owners of companies.

However, this appears to have been insufficient to improve civil society’s perception of corruption in the country and the way in which this phenomenon has been tackled. Indeed, to be removed from the FATF’s ‘grey list’, Angola knows that it is not enough to have legislation that provides for and punishes this and other white-collar crimes; it must also demonstrate that investigations are taking place and, above all, that convictions are being secured.

And apart from the odd isolated case, such as that of Augusto Tomás – a former Minister of Transport who served a prison sentence for embezzlement, repeated breaches of the rules governing the implementation of the budget, repeated abuse of power and financial involvement – or Carlos São Vicente, Agostinho Neto’s son-in-law, sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment – and, more recently, General “Dino”, sentenced by the Supreme Court to five years’ imprisonment (pending an appeal to the Constitutional Court), little or nothing else is known about cases involving more prominent figures, particularly those linked to the previous regime.

“It is not enough to pass laws; the country needs to build the capacity for institutions to enforce the law, so that the legislature sends clear signals that it operates independently of the executive. Its ability to enforce the law has not been made very clear,” Sérgio Calundungo, coordinator of the Angolan Political and Social Observatory (OPSA), told Expansão.

“Following the initial momentum during the first term of office, there is a perception here that the fight against corruption has slowed down. I think this is to be expected because, if we look back, in 2018 there were many cases, with numerous people in high-ranking government positions facing trial. There was a whole atmosphere that clearly signalled a very strong drive on the part of the institutions to tackle corruption. Since then, the momentum has not been the same, and I think it is natural for citizens to feel that there has been a certain slowdown,” the analyst emphasises…

*Source: Expansão