The Luanda Leaks followed the advisers behind an Angolan business empire

ICIJ traced how Isabel dos Santos and her husband built a multinational business network with support from lawyers, accountants, and consultants. Its evidence included more than 715,000 leaked documents, showing transactions and relationships that public company records could not explain alone.

A particularly revealing case involved Angolan state investment in a struggling Swiss jeweler. The reporting followed who supplied capital, who received control, and which advisers helped arrange the structure. Dos Santos and her husband denied wrongdoing and described the accusations as politically motivated.

The investigation’s distinctive focus is the professional layer around wealth. Some banks had withdrawn over risk concerns while other advisers continued working. That difference exposed how separate gatekeepers could assess the same client under very different incentives and obligations.