Port Louis - Mauritius has frozen bank
accounts and suspended business licenses linked to Quantum
Global Investment Management, a firm through which Angola's
sovereign wealth fund invests much of its cash, according to a
court document and a regulatory source.
Quantum Global, which said it was cooperating with
authorities, is run by Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, a business
partner of Jose Filomeno dos Santos. The son of José Eduardo dos
Santos, Angola's former president, Jose Filomeno dos Santos was
until recently the head of the national sovereign wealth fund.
The younger dos Santos has been charged with fraud against
Angola's central bank, involving the transfer of $500 million in
the United Kingdom. The funds were frozen and then
returned to Angola's central bank.
The moves at Quantum Global came after Angolan officials
visited Mauritius last week, a regulatory source on Mauritius
told Reuters.
Following a Mauritius Supreme Court ruling, seen by Reuters
on Wednesday, the island's Financial Services Commission
suspended the licenses for seven Quantum Global funds, according
to the source, and froze 25 of its bank accounts.
On Monday, the Mauritian newspaper Le Mauricien reported
that a further 33 bank accounts had been frozen, bringing the
total to 58.
"There was a reputational risk on our jurisdiction,
therefore we had to act promptly," the Mauritian regulatory
official told Reuters, adding that the steps had been taken in
collaboration with investigations by Angolan authorities.
In a statement, Zurich-based Quantum Global said it was
cooperating with the relevant authorities. "We remain confident
and resolute in our ability to defend ourselves vigorously
against the unwarranted attacks on our reputation," Quantum said
in the statement.
It has denied any links to the $500 million transfer that
was frozen in Britain.
Angola's Finance Ministry, which has led previous
investigations of financial malpractice, did not respond to a
request for comment.
Dos Santos is the highest-profile figure to be investigated
for corruption since President Joao Lourenco took power last
September, vowing to combat years of endemic graft in Africa's
second-largest oil producer.
His half-sister, Isabel dos Santos, has also been removed as
chair of state oil company Sonangol.