2023-05-26 17:15:53
The Portuguese non-governmental organization Frente Cívica asked the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR), Lucília Gago, to reopen the investigations for money laundering of the former vice-president of Angola, Manuel Vicente, by the Portuguese justice system.
The investigations had been archived by former prosecutor Orlando Figueira, who has now seen the Supreme Court of Justice dismiss an appeal and will have to serve a prison sentence of six years and eight months to which he was sentenced, in the first instance, for over four years now.
The part of the process sent to Angola is not working either.
In a letter sent on Monday, 22, to the PGR, the Civic Front based its request on the decision of the STJ of May 18 that dismissed an appeal filed by Figueira, related to the process known as “Operação Fizz”.
Figueira had been convicted of the crimes of corruption, money laundering, violation of secrecy of justice and forgery of documents, which implied the receipt of patrimonial advantages of more than 760 thousand euros, in exchange for the shelving of investigations in which the former deputy President of Angola, Manuel Vicente, was investigated for suspicions of money laundering related, among other things, to the purchase of an apartment in the luxurious Estoril-Sol complex, in Cascais, for 3.8 million euros.
The Angolan President demanded at the beginning of his term that the case against Manuel Vicente be sent to Angola, but so far there is no outcome on the matter.
The jurist Agostinho Canando regrets that the process in Angola continues to stagnate due to political reasons.
“In the sense that the processes often continue to depend on political will… because there was talk of political benefits, immunity, more than that it is necessary to discuss whether this is what we want for Angola”, he maintains.
For jurist Manuel Cangundo, it is important for the country to pay attention to Manuel Vicente’s case, as opposed to its shelving for political reasons.
“It’s good to know the intricacies of this process, to know if the facts that think against you make sense or not”, defends Cangundo.
Voz da América contacted Álvaro João, spokesman for the PGR, but without success.
The Attorney General of the Republic of Angola, Hélder Fernando Pitta Gróz, recently assured that the judicial process against Vicente continues, but admitted that the indictment will not be ready so soon.
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