The decision was contained in sentence 147/21, dated July 12, which nullified the record issued on August 29 last year, by the Audiencia Nacional de Madrid, a Spanish court that takes decisions on extradition requests, which held that there was no “double criminality”, delivery basis.
Carlos Aires da Fonseca Panzo, who was released by Joao Lourenço on October 20, 2017, after learning that he was under investigation “on suspicion of money laundering”, was initially arrested in Spain in September last year, at the request of the Criminal Investigations Office in Angola, but is currently awaiting a decision on the extradition request for conditional release.
In November 2017, the Angolan Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a case against Carlos Panzo, seeking to clarify a “complaint of facts criminally punishable”, under international law.
Carlos Panzo is under investigation following a complaint that he received kickbacks totaling US$11 million (€9.66 million), paid in several tranches by a Brazilian company, Odebrecht, through a bank account in Switzerland.
Carlos Panzo’s defense argues that the person under investigation cannot be tried twice for the same crime (the ‘double jeopardy principle’), having already been cleared of all charges in Switzerland.
The same sources argued that Panzu also benefits from the amnesty law passed by the Angolan parliament in August 2016.
William Shakespeare is a journalist and feature writer specialising in culture, entertainment, history, and current affairs. With a keen eye for storytelling and analysis, he produces informative articles that help readers understand the people, ideas, and events influencing modern life.
