The action marks a cloud in the usually clear sky of relations between Beijing and Luanda. The Angolan judiciary has seized the stake of the Chinese shareholder in Angolan mining company Catoca, which operates the country’s main diamond deposit and the world’s fourth largest open-pit mine for this precious stone.
Revealed by the Financial Times and then confirmed by the Angolan press in recent days, the seizure dates back a few months, namely to the last quarter of 2021, according to information we obtained.
Contested seizure
In detail, the Angolan public prosecutor’s office, led by Attorney General Hélder Pitta Gróz, blocked Lev Leviev International’s (LLI) 18% stake in Catoca, designating l’Institut de gestion des actifs et participations de l’État – IGAPE – (Institute for the Management of State Assets and Holdings), a public body attached to the ministry of finance, as custodian.
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