Vol 53 No 19 | ANGOLA Luanda buys Mayfair trophy 21st September 2012 Despite the ruling party’s election win, criticism is growing of its opaque financial management, including property investments in London Angola has spent £220 million (US$356 mn.) from funds ostensibly intended for long-term investment in the national infrastructure on a ‘trophy’ property in Mayfair, London. Plaza Global Real...
Vol 53 No 19 | ANGOLA Opposition claims dismissed 21st September 2012 Petitions accusing the government of systematic fraud in the presidential elections have been unceremoniously thrown out by the courts The Constitutional Court has rejected the challenges by opposition parties claiming fraud during the 31 August elections and has endorsed President José Eduardo dos Santos’s first formal electoral...
Vol 53 No 18 | ANGOLA Four more MPLA years 7th September 2012 The election victory was no landslide but the lack of foreign criticism gives Dos Santos enough space to organise a succession on his own terms The Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola won the general elections with 72% of the vote after spending more than US$75 million on its campaign. The opposition, which...
Vol 53 No 18 | ANGOLA Forex windfall test for banks 7th September 2012 Oil companies will soon have to process all their supplier payments through the local financial system but will the system be able to cope? Eight years after it was first proposed, the government is bringing in a law that will force oil companies to pay their suppliers through banks inside Angola. The...
Vol 53 No 17 | ANGOLA The MPLA plans a landslide 24th August 2012 Amid private jitters at the top, the ruling party is pulling out all the stops to ensure an overwhelming election win The Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) is pouring millions into a lavish campaign to ensure overwhelming victory in the general elections on 31 August. The team behind President...
Vol 53 No 17 | ANGOLA The other contestants 24th August 2012 After 2008’s electoral drubbing, the União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) is now far better organised, winning respect for its sustained pressure on the electoral commission, and surprising...
Vol 53 No 16 | ANGOLADIAMONDS Secrets are not forever 3rd August 2012 The Gaydamak case exposed details of profit-taking in the diamond business that the government might have preferred to remain unseen Russian-Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaydamak failed to convince the London High Court he had a case against diamond-dealer Lev Leviev in mid-June. Ever since, analysts have been poring over...
Vol 53 No 16 | ANGOLANAMIBIADIAMONDS Cross-border pollution 3rd August 2012 Lev Leviev's interests in neighbouring Namibia could suffer as a result of the British High Court proceedings in June, especially from the judge's critical remarks about his credibility...
Vol 53 No 15 | ANGOLA Luanda’s crude power 19th July 2012 For foreign oil companies, getting hitched to local partners is increasingly causing trouble at home Angola’s habit of compelling foreign oil companies to work with secretive local companies that belong to top government officials is attracting increasing criticism – and compliance risks at...
Vol 53 No 14 | ANGOLA Rocks and hard men 6th July 2012 The battle of the oligarchs in London’s High Court ended on 29 June. Arkady Gaydamak and Lev Leviev fought over millions of dollars in Angolan diamond sales.