Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
Issayas Mekuria
6 January 2008
The Federal High Court, first criminal bench, froze properties belonging to six individuals accused of cheating the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) of 158 million Br by passing off gilded bricks as solid gold.
Based on the charge brought by the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the court on December 31, 2007 banned the transfer to a third party of any vehicles, residences, deposits or precious metals belonging to the suspects.
The suspects are Mohammed Awel Seid (a.k.a. Mukemil Sheriff), Kefyalew Umeta Jotte (a.k.a. Asmare Ayalew and Mesfin Wolde), Mudesir Mohammed Sofam, Bahredin, Nursebo Abdi, Mekdes Gebremichael Haile and Solomon Gebremichael Haile.
The properties frozen include a residence in Kebele 05 of the Nifas Silk Lafto District under the ownership of Bahredin, a commercial building in the former Woreda 3, Kebele 52, and boutiques in Addis Ketema and Arada Districts that belong to Sofam Enterprise Plc.
The commission's forensic investigator, Genzeb Semaw, accused Mudesir and Bahredin of introducing Mohammed and Kefyalew and facilitating their registration as gold suppliers by using their friendships with officials at the Bank.
Once registered, the suspects allegedly received boxes used specifically for carrying precious metal from officials of the NBE, claiming that they had gold to supply. They allegedly later filled the box with balestras and railroad steels gilded with gold and sold it to the bank, making it look like the contents had been validated by a professional, according to the commission.
The Prosecution's Allegations
The six individuals conspired to cheat the NBE of 158 million Br.
Two suspects used connections at the NBE to get two other individuals registered as gold suppliers.
The phoney gold suppliers packed official NBE gold boxes with gilded steel and forged authentication.
The other two individuals hid the currency from the sale.
"With the assistance of employees of the Bank, they have swindled 158 million Br," reads the charge.
The commission accused Mekdes and Solomon of collaborating with the other suspects by hiding the currency from the transaction.
The Federal Police Commission earlier apprehended four NBE employees and three Ethiopian Geological Survey employees under orders from the Commission, accusing them of cheating 96.5 million Br.
The police revealed that 29 boxes bought from Kefyalew Umeta Import Export Trading were found to contain phoney gold, and eventually apprehended Ahmed Seid, Alemayehu Kassahun, Chimdesa Hirpa and Fekadu Lulu from the NBE on December 7, 2007. Earlier, the police had arrested experts at the Geological Survey Laboratory - Sisay Engida, Belachew Berissa and Yasin Yimam - who allegedly certified the steel as gold.
The commission last week inspected the homes of Mohammed Awel and Nursebo Abdi with a court warranty and told the court that it found gold-looking pieces of steel and other metals in one of the houses in Nifas Silk Lafto District frozen by this week's court order. The two suspects have allegedly cheated the bank of over 60 million Br.
The Auditor General last week began auditing the Bank's procurement procedures in response to the scandal.
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