Angola Jails Most Senior Official Yet After Corruption Trial
- Ex-transport minister found to have stolen billions of kwanzas
- Tomas served in government for years before his Sept. arrest
Joao Lourenco
Photographer: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images
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Angola’s Supreme Court sentenced a former government minister to 14 years in prison for corruption, marking the first conviction for graft of a senior official under President Joao Lourenco.
Former Transport Minister Augusto da Silva Tomas was found guilty of embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power and violating budgeting standards, Judge Joel Leonardo said on Thursday. Most charges were connected to fraud at the National Council of Shippers, a state regulator that oversees international shipping and freight to the country.