LUANDA, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Angola's National Assembly discussed a draft law on the repatriation of money abroad in the country's capital here Wednesday, while the government remains unsure about how much money is abroad and how much it can recover.

"Nobody knows how much money is out there, otherwise there would be no need to be here today to make this law, it would be a waste of time. The state would have the means to get that money," said Marcy Lopes, the secretary of the President of the Republic for Political, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, when responding to parliamentarians in the National Assembly session.

The draft law on the repatriation of money abroad is an initiative of the government and the draft Law on the Extraordinary Regime of Asset Regulation, proposed by UNITA, the largest opposition party.

Regarding expectations for the law, Lopes said that "this law will be approved, hopefully, to ensure legal mechanisms to get the money that is out there."

In December 2017, Angolan President Joao Lourenco urged government officials to repatriate money illegally held overseas by the beginning of this year or risk prosecution.

Lourenco said that those who act on his advice will not be questioned about the reasons for having the money outside the country, nor prosecuted.

The president warned that at the end of the grace period, the state will confiscate the money and bring it back to the country to benefit all Angolans and spur domestic investment.