The money laundering trial of former tycoon Carlos Manuel de Sao Vicente has been postponed on Wednesday. It was rescheduled on February 1, after a procedural mistake was picked up by his lawyers.
Angola: Money laundering trial of tycoon Carlos Manuel de Sao Vicente postponed
The trial of tycoon Carlos Manuel de Sao Vicente, a businessman linked to former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos accused of corruption, has been postponed until February 11, at the request of his lawyers.
" The law requires that a convocation should be sent 15 days before the start of the hearing by the prosecutor and the defence, a judge explained . Unfortunately, this was not done. The defence only became aware of this on January 18; which prompted them to request a postponement of the trial. "
Carlos Manuel de Sao Vicente was taken into custody in September 2020. His arrest followed an anti-corruption crusade launched by Angolan president Lourenço. François Zimeray, De Sao Vicente's French lawyer and ambassador for human rights has deemed the time his client served in prison illegal. " I am very worried because until now, he said. What I observe is that human rights have not been respected, the presumption of innocence has not been respected, the rights of the defence have not been respected. I note that he has been jailed for 600 days, whereas normally pre-trial detention should never exceed one year in this country. "
Carlos Manuel de Sao Vicente is married to a daughter of former president Agostino Neto and he is one of the many prominent figures under the Dos Santo’s presidency; who are now tarnished by corruption claims.
Swiss prosecutors have also alleged that he laundered money while serving as head of while serving as head of a now-defunct insurance company, AAA Seguros SA.