(Ecofin Agency) - Angolan Vice-President Manuel Vicente, one of the probable successors to Angola’s presidency, has been directly implicated in a corruption investigation opened by the Portuguese justice into a magistrate, AFP said on February 25, citing a source close to the case.

The magistrate, Orlando Figueira, 54, is accused of receiving a bribe to shelve an investigation involving Vicente, the same source adds.

The court ordered on February 23 the arrest of the magistrate in an investigation into corruption and money laundering. He is suspected of receiving “compensation” to favor the suspect of a probe he was leading.

The probe, shelved in January 2012, centered on funds used by the then president of Angolan public oil company Sonangol, Manuel Vicente, to buy a luxury apartment in Lisbon.

In November 2013, the Angolan justice shelved another probe into fiscal fraud and money laundering implicating Manuel Vicente.