Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the largest consultants in the world, was one of the entities that the companies of Isabel dos Santos and her husband, Sindika Dokolo, have used in recent years, but BCG guarantees that it is a closed matter and that it will not be repeated. “We will not work for them in the future,” a spokeswoman for the consultant told Expresso.
Expresso questioned BCG director in Luanda, Alexandre Gorito, who led the team that in 2016 was hired by the Maltese company Wise Intelligent Solutions (from Isabel dos Santos), to design the restructuring of Sonangol. For this work, BCG raised 3.3 million euros, as shown by Luanda Leaks documents. We wanted to know if BCG has returned to work with Sonangol or with any Isabel dos Santos company.
The consultant responded by her spokeswoman at the global level, indicating that she is still investigating the outlines of the deals made in the past with companies linked to Isabel dos Santos and her husband, Sindika Dokolo.
“BCG started analyzing this matter immediately (including at the highest level of management) when the questions were asked of us [pelo ICIJ – Consórcio Internacional de Jornalistas de Investigação] about six weeks ago, and we will continue to investigate. From our efforts to date, we can confirm that BCG has never worked directly for Isabel dos Santos or her husband, and we will not work for them in the future. The accusations against Isabel dos Santos are obviously serious and very worrying “, points out BCG.
The company admits to having worked for 11 months for De Grisogono, a jewelery company that the Angolan court says was bought by Isabel dos Santos and her husband, taking advantage of funds from the Angolan state company Sodiam. According to BCG, this work for De Grisogono “was completed more than six years ago”. BCG also says that “a number of employees left BCG and joined De Grisogono, but BCG was not involved in those placements”.
Expresso also questioned the Boston Consulting Group about whether it fears reputational damage for its involvement in Isabel dos Santos’ business. “We are constantly working to strengthen the company’s risk management processes, and although there have been no formal allegations of malpractice by BCG, we are committed to making the necessary improvements in this regard. [Luanda Leaks]”commented BCG.
The company also notes that its work in the oil sector in Angola was done “for the benefit of the Government and Sonangol”, having been hired through a competitive process. “After the change of Government in 2017, our most important recommendations were supported by the new Government and implemented by Sonangol”, adds BCG in its responses to Expresso.
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