UPDATE 1-Angola's dos Santos says to sue reporters' consortium behind "Luanda Leaks"

Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos said on Monday she was launching legal action against the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and its media partners, who last week published thousands of files about her business empire. "I refute the unfounded allegations and false affirmations and inform that I have taken steps towards initiating legal action against ICIJ and its partners, which will be managed by the international law firm Schillings Partners," dos Santos said in a statement.

The ICIJ was not immediately available for comment. Angola has named dos Santos, the daughter of former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, as a suspect over alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of funds while she was chairwoman of state oil firm Sonangol in 2016-2017.

She has denied the allegations. In her statement on Monday, dos Santos said documents based on "emails obtained criminally via hacking to create a misleading narrative" amount to a "concerted and intense campaign" against her.

A Portuguese hacker, Rui Pinto, on Monday took responsibility for disclosing the so-called Luanda Leaks - more than 700,000 documents "containing all data related to the recent revelations" about dos Santos’ fortune, his lawyers said. Dos Santos, whose father Jose Eduardo dos Santos left power in 2017 after ruling Angola for 38 years, has denied wrongdoing and says the leaks were part of a politically motivated campaign by the government of her father’s successor.

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