Angola Angolan and Portuguese citizens. His name now appears at Number 24 on the party list. Also telling, is the initial appearance for the first time on the party’s electoral list of two of Dos Santos’s lesser known children, José Filomeno ‘Zenu’ Dos Santos and Welwistchia ‘Tchizé’ dos Santos. However, as more information on the composition of the list emerged, Filomeno Dos Santos’s name was no longer on the list. Filomeno Dos Santos has been head of FSDEA, Angola’s sovereign fund since 2013. The first lady, Ana Paula dos Santos, is on the list, at Number 17. Meanwhile, in April Dos Santos fired the entire board of the state oil company, Sonangol, then appointed his daughter Isabel dos Santos as chief executive of the company, a move that was widely criticised by Angolan society. However, two ‘small details’ that seem to have escaped most observers is that what has been communicated to the media is that Dos Santos will “retire from active political life”, with no clarity on what that would mean in real terms; and the fact that until December it was reported by a number of reliable sources that Dos Santos was still on the party’s election list, occupying the 3rd position, behind heir apparent, João Lourenço and Bornito de Sousa, touted for the position of vice-president. By contrast, what has been widely commented on, is the fact that on the various occasions when Dos Santos has spoken throughout this process, not once has he said a word about his departure, nor about João Lourenço replacing him. Not to be omitted from any scenario though, ifsthe fact that the 74-year-old president’s health will also be a factor in his decision to retire from public life. Elections scheduled for August will be under the indirect control of the Num- ber 2 on the list, Bornito de Sousa, as present Minister of Territorial Administration, which is the ministry responsible for the National Electoral Commission. Opposition parties have voiced their objection, asking for his removal. Queried about the independence of the electoral body and his personal conflict of interests, Bornito de Sousa said that constitutionally and legally there was no incompatibility. He assured that the process was transparent enough, without any human intervention. Panama Papers The Angolan Sovereign Fund was caught in the fine mesh of the worldwide investigations that followed the revelations contained in the information leak known as the Panama Papers. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists linked FSDEA to a number of key figures in Angola, Germany, Switzerland and Russia, all mentioned in the Panama Papers. Investigations uncovered a link between an American oil company and several powerful politicians in Angola. According to the leaked documents, approximately fifteen shell companies funnelled money through UBS bank accounts. Oil Minister Botelho de Vasconcelos was cited in the papers, but human rights campaigner and journalist Rafael Marques believes that there are more, “including Vice President Manuel Vicente”. In March, FSDEA said in an internal report that USD 486 million had disappeared from the fund, an amount roughly equivalent to 10% of its capital. However, this information was made public only in September. A number of investigative reports have linked the Fund to shady deals involving companies linked to FSDEA head Filomeno Dos Santos and associates, chief among these, Banco Kwanza Invest, founded by Filomeno Dos Santos himself. FSDEA denied any wrongdoing So This is Democracy? 2016 13