(club-k.net) - It is being established as a new private diamond trading company in Belgium and the sources following the process describe it as a "solution" to circumvent the embargo introduced by Angola’s President João Lourenço through the state-owned SODIAM and imposed on the interests of Isabel dos Santos in the sector.
The main enthusiast and initiator of this project is Sindika Dokolo, who in his turn hired an Israeli citizen, Jacob Karko as an official face of this initiative.
Based in Angola for several years, Jacob Karko is well versed in the diamond business. Incidentally, he worked for Isabel dos Santos in the past as the manager of her company, Ascorp.
During the last two months, Sindika Dokolo and Jacob Karko met twice in Brussels to discuss the main issues related to this topic.
According to Club-K, on his return to Luanda Jacob Karko contacted one of SODIAM’s administrators, José das Neves Gonçalves Silva and received guarantees for licensing the new company, which will be presented in the market as "independent."
José Silva "Neves," who is also rumored to be associated with Edeltrutes da Costa in the diamond sector, is a former friend of Jacob Karko, which is why the preference for contact.
At the time that José Eduardo dos Santos was the President of Angola, his daughter Isabel dos Santos bought diamonds at symbolic prices and then resold them in international markets at their real value. The scheme of Isabel dos Santos caused damages and financial losses to the Angolan state, and this was the reason why the new head of state, João Lourenço ordered to put an end to the exclusivity they enjoyed in the diamond sector.
On December 1, 2017, state-owned SODIAM, which is responsible for the commercialization of the country's diamonds, announced its divesting from De Grisogono, the Swiss-based luxury and jewelry group controlled by Isabel dos Santos and her husband Sindika Dokolo.
In July this year, SODIAM also terminated the contract for the purchase of rough diamonds with Odyssey Holding, saying it was due to sustained losses. Odyssey is the company based in the United Arab Emirates and linked to Isabel dos Santos.
It is following this siege that Sindika Dokolo came up with the initiative to create a new company, which is expected to operate in the market as a Belgium-based company with the purpose of buying rough diamonds in the country.
