Luanda, Oct. 15, 2025 (Lusa) - Angolan president João Lourenço on Wednesday called on the Swiss authorities to comply with the decisions of the Angolan courts and return "the large sums of money that they inexplicably hold in their banks and which are the property of Angola".

In his State of the Nation address, which marks the opening of the parliamentary year, the Angolan head of government highlighted the results achieved in the fight against corruption and economic and financial crime, reporting that "to date, more than US$7 billion’ [€6 billion] have been recovered in favour of the State and seizures and confiscations in the order of US$12 billion [€10.3 billion] have been carried out, relating to various types of assets in Angola and other countries".

João Lourenço stated that "the lack of effective international mechanisms and the lack of cooperation from several countries, such as Switzerland, continues to make it impossible to repatriate these financial assets, which are very much needed by the Angolan people and the domestic economy".

We continue to wait for the Swiss authorities to return to Angola the large sums of money that they inexplicably hold in their banks and which are the property of Angola, in accordance with the ruling of the Angolan court, confirmed by the Angolan Constitutional Court following the appeal, which determines the reversal in favour of the Angolan State of all financial and property assets in Angola and anywhere else in the world," he said, adding that "court rulings are binding and must be enforced in any self-respecting state governed by the rule of law."

The head of state's statements come after the Swiss justice decided in 2020 to keep frozen around US$900 million (€774 million) in bank accounts belonging to Angolan businessman Carlos de São Vicente on suspicion of money laundering.

Last year, João Lourenço had already called for international cooperation to recover assets, asking countries such as Portugal, Luxembourg, Singapore, Namibia and the United Arab Emirates to return financial resources valued at around US$1.9 billion (€1.6 billion) in the context of legal proceedings with final and binding decisions.

Businessman Carlos de São Vicente, former president of AAA Seguros and husband of Irene Neto, daughter of Angola's first president, was sentenced in March 2022 to nine years in prison for embezzlement, tax fraud and money laundering.

São Vicente has been detained at the Viana prison in Luanda since November 2020 and has already served half of his sentence (part of it in preventive detention).

RCR/AYLS // AYLS

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