By AFP

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Angola has recovered assets worth more than $11 billion that had been looted from state coffers and stashed in countries around the world, the justice minister said Thursday.

The authorities have launched 715 criminal prosecutions for corruption, fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes, Justice Minister Francisco Queiroz said in the state-owned Jornal de Angola.

Over the last three years, the government has recovered nearly 11.5 billion dollars (10.06 billion euros) in cash and property in Angola and around the globe, he said.

Assets have been recovered from Britain, Switzerland, Singapore and Bermuda, among others, he said.

"The total amount seized and recovered, in the country and abroad, totals $11,486,042,997.22," he said in the paper.

After taking office in 2017, President Joao Lourenco launched an anti-corruption drive to recoup assets he suspected were embezzled under his predecessor, Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Dos Santos, 79, is accused of appointing relatives and friends to top positions during his 38-year presidency. They allegedly siphoned off Angola's oil wealth, leaving behind a nation mired in poverty.

His daughter Isabel is being investigated for allegedly funnelling state funds into offshore assets -- accusations she vehemently denies.