Former president of Sonangol owes one million to the Portuguese tax authorities
The Tax Authority has pledged bank accounts to recover tax arrears for the period 2012-2015.
The Portuguese Tax Authority (PTA) is asking almost one million euros from the former president of the state oil company Sonangol Francisco de Lemos José Maria. The amount relates to tax arrears and has already led the tax authorities to seize the manager’s bank accounts, according to the Correio da Manhã newspaper.
Francisco José Maria arrived at the presidency of the board of directors of the Angolan company in 2012, replacing Manuel Vicente who became vice-president of Angola.
The position forced him to travel to Portugal, namely to occupy a position at BCP (the bank in which Sonangol is a shareholder). Francisco José Maria then opened a bank account and subscribed to several investment funds, giving his brother’s address as his fiscal address.
These holdings were sold in 2015 and the tax authorities have now detected that Francisco José Maria never declared the sale, according to Correio da Manhã. Without being able to talk to the manager about the debt of 991,000 euros, the tax authorities proceeded with the attachment of bank accounts, in an act of tax administration that has already been challenged by the former head of Sonangol, adds the newspaper.
