Lisbon City Council postpones decision on hotel over alleged links with tycoon Isabel dos Santos

Lisbon City Councillors have opposed its Mayor, Carlos Moedas over a project for a new five-star hotel in the city centre.

The person behind the project is the Angolan tycoon Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of ex-President José Eduardo dos Santos. The Angolan Public Ministry has put out an International warren for her arrest over allegation of syphoning off revenues from the State-run oil company Sonangol and other charges of money laundering and fraud.
The Angolan businesswoman, whose exact whereabouts are currently not known, has had her goods and properties seized and bank accounts frozen to the tune of €941 million.
The Lisbon City Council has postponed voting on the new hotel until doubts are cleared up on the developer which allegedly has links with the Angolan tycoon.
“Any question of a possible seizure of goods, once again, has nothing to do with Lisbon City Council. This issue is only taken into account regarding planning permission if it is reflected in the documents of the judicial case, which has not happened in this case”, states the office of the councillor for Urban Planning, and Transparency and Anti-Corruption, Joana Almeida (an independent councillor elected for the coalition “Novos Tempos” – PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança), reports the Lusa news agency.