Fishrot: Trial of Angola’s ex-fisheries minister to start 

Angola’s former fisheries minister Vitória de Barros Neto is set to go on trial next month over alleged embezzlement linked to joint fishing operations with Namibia, refocusing the spotlight on the cross-border reach of the Fishrot scandal.

Angola’s Supreme Court has scheduled the trial to begin on 22 April, VerAngola reports.

Neto faces embezzlement charges brought by the public prosecutor.

She is accused of misappropriating funds derived from fish sales in the joint coastal zone shared by Angola and Namibia during her tenure.

Three co-accused – Rafael Virgílio Pascoal, Yango Nsalamby and Jaime Domingos Alves Pinto – are also expected to stand trial.

Angolan prosecutors have confirmed that the case has direct links to Namibia, with authorities from both countries cooperating on investigations into the same transactions.

The Angolan attorney general’s office previously indicated that Namibian judicial authorities were handling a parallel criminal process involving Namibian citizens and companies connected to the alleged scheme.

Investigators also examined a controversial N$150 million fishing quota arrangement between Namibia and Angola, which was allegedly diverted for the benefit of politically connected individuals in both countries.

In 2021, Namibian Fishrot accused Ricardo Gustavo testified in the Windhoek High Court that João de Barros, the son of the Angolan minister, was his superior at Namgomar Pesca Namibia, where Gustavo served as sole director.

Previous reporting by Namibian Sun also highlighted Neto’s role in agreements that enabled Icelandic company Samherji to access horse mackerel quotas, with her name frequently appearing alongside Namibian accused, including former ministers Bernhardt Esau and Sacky Shanghala.

Historical deals under scrutiny

Key details of Neto’s involvement date back to June 2014, when she signed a bilateral horse mackerel agreement with the then Namibian fisheries minister Esau, who is currently in custody awaiting trial in the Fishrot matter.

Neto was also part of a group – including her son João de Barros – implicated in meetings with Samherji representatives, Shanghala and James Hatuikulipi, aimed at finalising fishing deals that prosecutors now say laid the foundation for the Fishrot scheme.

Fishrot echoes and regional implications

The developments mirror central elements of Namibia’s Fishrot scandal, one of the country’s largest corruption cases, in which senior politicians and business figures are accused of diverting fishing quotas in exchange for bribes from foreign companies.

The scandal, which erupted in 2019, led to the resignation and arrest of Esau and Shanghala, who face fraud, corruption and money laundering charges.

At the heart of Fishrot were allegations that politically connected entities exploited bilateral fishing agreements and quota allocations – a structure similar to the one now under scrutiny in Angola.

Previous court testimony in Namibia has already pointed to Angolan links, with evidence showing that Angolan-connected fishing companies were involved in quota allocations tied to Fishrot, with connections extending into Neto’s family.