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The theft of national wealth from Angola

23rd January 2020

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This opinion piece for the Guardian highlights the damage that corruption, and poor governance can do to a country's development prospects, and the standard of living enjoyed by its citizens.

The Luanda Leaks and the furore surrounding the wealth of Isabel dos Santos, places these issue, and institutional concerns back at the centre of the current development debate.

And before we in the West get too smug about this sort of thing, we ought to reflect upon the fact that Western elites turn a blind eye to this sort of thing and Western companies - notably financial institutions facilitate it.

The #LuandaLeaks expose the failure of international institutions to combat the wholesale theft of national wealth and, for once, reveal the true toll on the victims.

More from @keatingetom in The @Guardian here ➡️ https://t.co/ex1TMBrdNK pic.twitter.com/jdjeNkLD36
— CFCS (@CFCS_RUSI) January 23, 2020

NEW: Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, siphoned hundreds of mlns out of Angola under her father’s presidency—with the help of massive Western companies, reveals a massive investigation by 20 global news orgs led by the mighty @ICIJ. #LuandaLeaks https://t.co/8B7KgiNM4J
— Max de Haldevang (@MddeH) January 19, 2020

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Graham Watson

Graham Watson has taught Economics for over twenty years. He contributes to Tutor2U, reads voraciously and is interested in all aspects of Teaching and Learning.

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The theft of national wealth from Angola

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