Concerns over alleged fraudster’s ‘investment bank

The suspected Angolan-Swiss fraudster, Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, was remanded in custody in Angola last September to await trial on charges of embezzling billions of dollars from the country's Sovereign Wealth Fund. So why are the Angolan authorities allowing him to continue as the majority owner and head of the Banco Kwanza Investimentos (BKI)? And what persuaded Angola's central bank to bail out Bastos de Morais' failing 'investment' bank? These questions are posed by Rafael Marques de Morais in an analysis on the allAfrica site. He notes that De Morais registered the BKI with himself as the majority owner with 85% of the stock and the remaining 15% registered in the name of Sérgio Ferreira Mata da Costa. ‘This was a ruse to hide the real owner, the former BKI Chairman of the Board and Swiss national, Marcel Kruse, presumably to comply with a requirement for an Angolan partner. To ensure that he would not be cheated, Kruse had Sérgio, an electrician, sign both an irrevocable power of attorney and a promissory note in his favour. Although he has never taken any part in the BKI, Sérgio continues to be registered as the legal owner of 15% of the BKI stock to this day. De Morais says that while Kruse claims he received no dividends on his 15% of the stock since the bank was set up in 2008, he remains a non-executive director of BKI and takes part in board meetings.

Full analysis on the allAfrica site