The encyclopedia · Legal & Compliance · Legal decision · 1993–2022
De Grisogono, a Swiss watch brand, was bankrupted by the Luanda Leaks corruption scandal
Geneva watch brand De Grisogono filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after the Luanda Leaks revealed its $120M Angola investment was a money-laundering scheme.
De Grisogono SA · 2020-01
What happened
De Grisogono was founded in Geneva in 1993 by Fawaz Gruosi, a Lebanese-Italian black diamond specialist. The brand became known for high-end watches and jewellery, reaching €102.6 million in revenue by 2011 and selling a record 163-carat diamond necklace for 33.5 million Swiss francs in 2017.
In 2012, Gruosi sold his majority stake to SODIAM, the trading arm of the Angolan state diamond company, which was controlled by the family of President José Eduardo dos Santos. SODIAM invested $120 million, but the money was allegedly funnelled through shell companies in Malta and the British Virgin Islands rather than reaching the business.
In January 2020, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the Luanda Leaks investigation, exposing how the dos Santos family had used De Grisogono to launder money. Days later, on 29 January 2020, the company filed for bankruptcy in Switzerland. In 2022, Dubai's Damac Group acquired the brand. SODIAM sold its remaining shares in 2024 as part of dismantling the dos Santos financial empire.
Why it happened
- The dos Santos family used De Grisogono as a vehicle to launder $120 million from Angola's state diamond company through shell companies — the money never reached the business.
- The Luanda Leaks investigation exposed the scheme in January 2020, destroying the brand's reputation and triggering an immediate bankruptcy filing.
- The company's revenue had already declined from its 2011 peak, and the corrupt ownership structure left it with no legitimate capital to weather the crisis.
- De Grisogono was tightly associated with the dos Santos family's image — when the family fell, the brand fell with it.
The lesson
A luxury brand that takes dirty money from a corrupt regime is not buying survival — it is buying a time bomb. When the corruption is exposed, the brand collapses with its owners.
Sources
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