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Africa News of Thursday, 9 April 2020

Source: bbc.com

Dos Santos hacker released from prison

Rui Pinto has been in prison awaiting trial on computer fraud charges Rui Pinto has been in prison awaiting trial on computer fraud charges

The Portuguese hacker who was the source for the Luanda Leaks revelations has been transferred to house arrest after leaving the prison in Lisbon where he's been held for more than a year.

Rui Pinto leaked documents which revealed how Africa's richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, made her fortune.

The documents show how the daughter of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and her husband were allowed to buy valuable state assets in a series of suspicious deals and build a $2bn (£1.6bn) fortune.

Ms Dos Santos denies the allegations, and has called them a politically motivated witch hunt.

The revelation triggered a major criminal investigation in Angola.

Mr Pinto has been in prison awaiting trial on a different count - relating to the football world.

He founded the Football Leaks website to uncover alleged corruption in the sport and provided millions of documents to the media.

He faces 90 criminal charges including computer fraud and attempted extortion.

But his lawyers argue that information he released has helped in the fight against serious economic crimes.