Thread by @OCCRP

NEW: We’ve uncovered a private banking network that allowed a group of Angolan elites to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into Europe.

EU officials learned of this suspected money-laundering scheme years ago, yet it still functions to this day. 1/
occrp.org/en/investigati…

At least $324 million passed through Portuguese branches of Angolan banks controlled by the group. Most of the funds originated in Angola; likely from Sonangol, the state oil giant, where some members of the clique had positions or connections. 2/

The group’s Angolan banks were able to maintain branches in Portugal despite red flags reported by the country's central bank in 2016. Aside from being controlled by a handful of gov't officials and financial execs, these banks had few anti-money laundering measures in place. 3/

The Portuguese branch of Banco Privado Atlantico, for example, failed basic “Know Your Customer” rules. In fact, the bank appears to have been built to ensure that information about clients would never be collected. 4/ occrp.org/en/investigati…

Its compliance officers were part-time junior staff with no experience in the field. The head of the compliance unit was also the company secretary and “did not even have general knowledge” of money laundering, according to one of the 2016 Portuguese audits. 5/

The Euro branch of Banco de Negocios Internacional, another bank in this scheme, had only one compliance officer.

This person wasn't even allowed to access the accounts of certain clients, including Mario Palhares, a former Angolan central bank official who controlled BNI. 6/

Another key player was Manuel Vicente, who headed Sonangol for more than a decade before leaving to become Angola’s vice president. While a public official, Vicente was either a shareholder, a board chairman, or an executive in each of the group’s overseas banks. 7/

.@AnaMartinsGomes, an ex-Portuguese member of the European parliament, said that illicit wealth may have been welcome in Portugal.

"This was the time of Portugal's financial crisis...So of course Portugal was happy to accommodate Angolans' need to launder their money.” 8/

While the money may have benefited Portuguese banks, “even a fraction” of the total could have transformed Angola, according to Oxford Professor @S_de_Oliveira. “Not all problems would have been solved … But Angola would be a different country today.” 9/ occrp.org/en/investigati…