Crackdown on Isabel Dos Santos begins to bite 27 July 2021 Lisbon — Angolan oil company Sonangol says it will take control of Isabel dos Santos’s 6% indirect stake in Portuguese oil company Galp Energia SGPS SA, after a court ruled in favour of the state-owned firm in a legal battle against Africa’s once-richest woman. The International Court of Arbitration, under the auspices of the Netherlands Arbitration Institute, determined on July 23 that the transfer in 2006 of an indirect stake in Galp to a company controlled by Dos Santos from Sonangol was “contaminated by illegality” and should be considered “null and void”, Sonangol said late on Monday. As a result of the court’s decision, Sonangol said it will take control of Dos Santos’s 40% stake in Esperaza Holding, the vehicle used by the oil company to buy shares in Galp, and become the only shareholder in the venture. Esperaza owns 45% of Amorim Energia, a holding company that has a 33.34% stake in Galp. Dos Santos wasn’t immediately available to comment on the decision. Source: BusinessLive |