An Angolan lawyer filed a criminal case against the director of the Asset Recovery Service

Angolan lawyer Joao Gorgel has filed a criminal case against the director of the Asset Recovery Service, whom he accuses of several crimes, including the theft of documents proving that he owns shares in the CIF building, which was confiscated in 2020.

João Gugel considers that this is an “unprecedented case” since it is a criminal case against a magistrate in the performance of her duties and informs Lusa that he will also file a hierarchical complaint against Eduardo Rodrigues to the Attorney General of the Republic and the High Council of the Judiciary of the Prosecutor’s Office “for disciplinary reasons” .

Since 2018, Eduarda Rodríguez has headed the National Service for Asset Recovery (SENRA), a structure created to manage the process of returning Angolan public assets illegally diverted as part of the fight against corruption, which Angolan President João Lourenço has chosen to be the flagship of his mandate.

SENRA’s current list includes 223 recovered, 521 seized and 167 seized assets, including the CIF Luanda One and Two buildings owned by the China International Angola Foundation, a company linked to former Vice President Manuel Vicente, whose representatives in Angola are Generals Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias “Copelipa” and Leopoldino do Nascimento Fragoso “Dino” are accused of fraud by deception, criminal association, influence peddling and money laundering, among other crimes.

In the record of the criminal case against Eduarda Rodrigues and Simão Chaluca, also a SENRA magistrate, João Gugel complains of “acts and omissions” and claims that he is being prosecuted “without any incriminating elements” or grounds “that allow him to form a conviction of guilt” . .

He also emphasizes “that he cannot allow his reputation and good name to be compromised by the clients he defends or the agreements he has reached throughout his life and professional career.”

João Gugel, who is also Copelipa’s lawyer, says he was surprised by the ban order from the moment the National Office of Public Heritage took possession of the sites.

The document, which Lusa had access to, states that on February 21, 2021, she was notified of the suspension of all activities on the 7th, 8th and 9th floors of CIF Luanda Two, with a request to provide all documentation certifying the ownership of these factions. .

He says his law office remained closed for eight months, with staff barred from entry and prevented from accessing client documents and files, a situation that resulted in “incalculable losses and enormous expenses” that only changed after he a lawsuit has been filed. against the court’s decision.

“Not satisfied, they raised the question of liquidating these factions at a loss to the state on the grounds that they had been acquired fraudulently, a process that is still ongoing and in which, according to a document seen by Lusa, neither João Gurgel nor Sozhoka are the defendants.

“It should be noted that the fractions that SENRA intends to give to the state are under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance and the National Office of Public Heritage, as stated in the PGR,” confirms the participation presented on Thursday in the PGR.

In the document, João Gugel explains how the land on which the CIF buildings were built ended up in his hands and in the hands of the company he represents, Sojoca, since the Sirius guesthouse existed on the site, intended for housing. In the meantime, the refugees were moved to a housing complex by order of the then Minister of Public Works, Igino Carneiro.

In the meantime, the guesthouse was demolished to make way for the Nzimbo building, which was never built due to lack of funds from the promoter, who transferred his 50% stake to João Gugel, at which time negotiations began to build CIF Two. .

These culminated in the payment of financial compensation to Sohoke and the eventual delivery of the 7th, 8th and 9th fractions, and in 2018 the law firm began work on adapting the 9th floor for its offices.

João Gugel claims to have provided the Attorney General Helder Pitta Gross with documentary evidence confirming that he and the Sojoca company were the owners of the 7th, 8th and 9th fractions of the CIF Luanda Two building, and the same information and documentation were handed over to Eduarda Rodriguez , who, however, did not provide it to the National Office of Public Heritage, resulting in lawyers working in his office being prohibited from entering the aforementioned building.

João Gugel accuses Eduardo Rodrigues of “wasting or misappropriating evidentiary documents” and of continuing to raise incidents in which these factions are lost to the state, claiming that they are an advantage of the crimes committed by Copelipa.

Eduarda Rodriguez’s conduct, Copelipa’s lawyer charges, “was intended to cause harm to the participant.” [Gourgel] to such an extent that it used its functions and powers to persecute him in a completely offensive and illegal manner.”

Thus, João Gurgel accuses the prosecutor of defamatory exposure, abuse of power, slander and insult, persecution of innocent people, suppression or redirection of legal proceedings or evidentiary documents, and SENRA of “lying, curtailing and suppressing the authenticity of facts (…) with the aim of create the appearance that he acquired the fractions in the CIF “fraudulently and thus obtain a ruling on their loss in favor of the State.”

The lawyer also demands compensation for a minimum amount of 150 million kwanzas (166 thousand euros).