By ARNALDO VIEIRA

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Former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos's son is being held in custody in Luanda for alleged involvement in criminal activities, officials confirmed.

The Attorney-General Office's said in a statement that Mr José Filomeno dos Santos (Zenu) was being in held at the São Paulo Prison, following his arrest on Monday,.

Mr Filomeno dos Santos, the statement explained, would be arraigned in court to answer for charges related to questionable business deals.

The son of former president was arrested alongside his business associate, Mr Jean Claude Bastos de Morais, according to the statement.

Suspect transfer

Filomeno dos Santos is at the centre of the suspect transfer of $500 million from the Angolan sovereign fund, which he once headed.

The money was allegedly transferred from the Angolan Reserve Bank to the Credit Suisse Bank in the UK.

The AG's Office said the arrests followed investigations into the operations of sovereign fund.

The investigations were continuing, but there already was enough evidence implicating the two defendants, the AG's statement went on.

Angolan authorities last March barred Filomeno from leaving the country over fraud charges.

Eldest daughter

President João Lourenço has embarked on an anti-corruption crusade that has seen several close associates of his predecessor implicated in wrongdoing.

He took over in August last year, following an election marking the end of President dos Santos's 38-year reign.

President Lourenço sacked Filomeno as the head of the strategic sovereign fund in January.

The president also sacked Isabel dos Santos, the former president’s eldest daughter, as the chair of the board of the state-owned oil firm Sonangol.

Ms Isabel dos Santos, who is Africa’s richest woman, faces several graft investigations.