One of the relevant pieces of the so-called Luanda Leaks is that Isabel dos Santos diverted more than US $ 135 million from Sonangol to a subordinate company with the justification of paying consultancy services. The money was transferred to Matter Business Solutions, based in Dubai, so that, as the coordinating entity of Sonangol’s restructuring process, paid for consultancy services.
In January of this year, the International Journalists Consortium, which investigated the case, stated that, although there were invoices for the services, they presented “very little information about the consultancy services that will have been provided to the oil company, raising doubts about the control and verification of these expenses by the Angolan public company ”. At stake are the management acts carried out by Isabel dos Santos, who was the president of Sonangol between June 2016 and November 2017.
Transfers pay for services rendered
Have consulting services been paid for? To whom? Have contracted companies issued invoices?
These questions have an answer. The Business consulted documents related to this case and found that, in fact, funds were transferred to pay for services provided within the scope of Sonangol’s restructuring process.
Among the companies that were paid by Matter Business Solutions, whose directors were Mário Leite Silva and Paula Oliveira (the latter also a shareholder), included the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and PwC. But there is more. McKinsey, the law firm Vieira de Almeida, Odkas, Ucall and Neves e Almeida were paid for the work carried out for the Angolan oil company and signaled that fact by passing invoices.
The two companies that most benefited from the services provided to Sonangol were BCG and PwC, US $ 31 million and 21 million, respectively. McKinsey received 15 million dollars and Odkas 11 million .
