In 2011, Corruption Watch was approached with a cache of documents that exposed one of the most egregious cases of financial crime and corruption we had encountered.
The documents told the detailed story of how, via the insertion of dubious middlemen into a Debt Deal between Russia and Angola, hundreds of millions of dollars were diverted from the treasuries of both Russia and Angola (one of the poorest countries in the world) and into the pockets of businessmen, arms dealers and serving politicians, all ably facilitated by global banks in secrecy jurisdictions ranging from Switzerland to Cyprus.
Together with Associação Mãos Livres (ML), a human rights organization based in Luanda with offices in Cabinda and Huambo, we present the full story of the Corrupt Angola-Russia Debt Deal.
Read a short summary of the Report and our recommendations
See all relevant exhibits on which the report has been based
Press Release and FAQ – English
Key Players
The Middlemen
Arcadi Gaydamak
Co-owner of Abalone Investments
Pierre Falcone
Co-owner of Abalone Investments
Vitaly Malkin
Co-owner of Abalone Investments
Joelle Mamane
Financial Administrator of Abalone Investments and other Gaydamak Entities
The Angolan Officials
José Eduardo dos Santos
President of Angola
José Leitão da Costa e Silva
Minister in the Office of the Presidency
Elísio de Figueiredo
Ambassador without Portfolio
Joaquim Duarte da Costa David
Director General of Sonangol and Minister of Finance
José Carlos de Castro Paiva
Director General of Sonangal UK
José Pedro de Morais Jr
Client Subtitle
The Russian Officials
Mikhail Kasyanov
Deputy Minister of Finance, Minister of Finance
Alexei Kudrin
Minister of Finance