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Welcome back!
Luanda Leaks, our latest investigation, has sparked a global conversation about the role international firms play in helping the rich and powerful amass their fortune.
American companies have “far too much leeway to make money at the expense of the countries where they operate,” argued a New York Times editorial on the weekend. One reader, from Action for Southern Africa, said the investigation was a “landmark moment for the world” and lawmakers must crackdown on global consulting firms.
Our social media platforms have been inundated with requests for the next “[Insert country] Leaks” from Dubai, to Malaysia, Zimbabwe, Guyana and the United States. We’ve also received sobering messages from Angolans, who feel they have been wronged by Isabel dos Santos.
It was midnight when the bulldozers rolled into the Luandan fishing community at Areia Branca. The 50-year old neighborhood had been home to more than 3,000 families. But in 2013, a project championed by Isabel dos Santos forced them out. Police and military personnel handcuffed those who objected, and threw their belongings into the sea. Why? They were to make way for a $1.3 billion redevelopment plan in a bid to make the city “Africa’s premier visitor destination.”
Authorities in Portugal and Cape Verde are investigating companies and service providers linked to Isabel dos Santos. The reaction has been particularly swift in Portugal, where dos Santos holds significant stakes in major energy, banking and media businesses. Meanwhile, the European Banking Authority is also following developments, and Cape Verde has already launched an investigation.
In the days after we published Luanda Leaks, Angola’s attorney general charged the former president’s daughter with fraud charges. Isabel dos Santos is accused of mismanagement and embezzlement of public funds during an 18-month stint as head of Sonangol, the state oil company. Read more reactions here.
Thirty-six media partners published stories relating to Luanda Leaks last week. (And even more published follow up stories.) No matter what part of the globe you’re in – we’ve got it covered in this list of stories.
The soccer whistleblower Rui Pinto, who is currently in jail for his Football Leaks expose, was revealed as the source of the Luanda Leaks documents. We received the files from the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa, which on Monday revealed Pinto was their source of the documents.
Until next week!
Amy Wilson-Chapman
ICIJ’s community engagement editor
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