When Portugal’s largest bank, Banco Espirito Santo (BES), collapsed several years ago, in part due to alleged money laundering and questionable loans, the consequences rippled across the world.Few countries felt the grim aftershocks as severely as Angola.The bank’s Angolan branch, Besa, had made bad loans worth a staggering US$6bn to various people — including those believed to be close to Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s president for 36 years.In itself, this wasn’t a surprise. The country has developed an unenviable reputation as a place where those close to Dos Santos flourish, while the citizens of the oil-rich country are routinely forgotten.A company called Geni, owned by Dos Santos’s 43-year-old daughter Isabel dos Santos, owned 18.9% of the Angolan bank, while Manuel Hélder’s Portmill owned another 24%. Isabel dos Santos is reputed to be the richest woman in Africa, with a fortune estimated at $3.3bn.The Panama Papers, leaked from law firm Mossack Fonseca, have cast new lig...
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