The Bank of America has pulled out of its role in advising Amorim Energia, a company tied to the Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, on its sale of a stake in Portugal’s Galp Energia after one of the bank’s key internal committees felt unable to approve the bank’s involvement due to a risk to its overall reputation.
In June, the Angolan President, José Eduardo dos Santos, appointed his daughter Isabel to the position of chairwoman of the state oil company Sonangol, amid cries of ‘nepotism’ from Angola’s main opposition party and international observers.
Sonangol, through its subsidiary Esperanza Holding, owns 45% of Amorim Energia. Isabel Santos also has a holding in Esperanza.
The Bank of America assessed reputational risk and other issues and decided that it was not worth getting involved with Amorim Energia and hence being linked to the dos Santos name.
All parties have decided to offer a ‘no comment’ to press questions but the withdrawal of a high-profile bank such as Bank of America echoes other investment banks which now are thinking twice before getting involved with corporate structures set up by despots and kleptomaniacs.
Goldman Sachs already has been accused of exploiting its ties with Libyan Investment Authority employees to sell risky investments to the fund.
According to a Reuters report, Private Swiss bank BSI SA was told to close its Singapore business in May for breaking money laundering rules after it was linked to the Malaysian state investment company where theft on a grand scale is still being unravelled.
With the world’s press keen to expose corrupt dealings, and with governments increasingly able to access and track international financial data held on companies and individuals, investment banks acting as advisors are becoming wary that their poor reputations may fall further should they be linked to names such as José dos Santos who has bled Angola’s treasury dry while overseeing a country plagued by astonishing levels of poverty.
Isabel dos Santos has become Africa's richest woman and many believe this has been through her father's influence in ensuring State and private contracts go his daughter's way.
