Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
Issayas Mekuria
11 March 2008
Two senior National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) officials were arrested last week in conjunction with the phoney gold scandal that has been rocking the financial institution regulator for three months now. The latest arrests have increased the number of officials apprehended from the Bank to six.
The Federal Ethics and Anticorruption Commission (FEAC), which has been probing the swindling of millions of Birr in public money, arrested Wasu Adem, head of NBE's Treasury Department, and his deputy, Teklehana Zeleke, on February 21, 2008. The Commission has intensified its investigation so far detaining 21 suspects; four from the Ethiopian Geological Survey and 11 businessmen accused of being primary architects of the fraud as well as their alleged accomplices.
Suspects earlier arrested from NBE include Ahmed Seid, former Treasury Department head who was recently moved to the International Banking Department, and three staff of the Treasury Department: Alemayehu Kassahun, Chimdesa Hirpa and Fekadu Lulu.
A day after their arrest, Wasu and Teklehana on February 22 appeared before the First Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court, which placed them under custody for 14 days of investigation. The Commission told the Bench that the two had failed to execute their responsibilities with due diligence forcing the government to incur a huge loss.
The Bench denied the suspects' request for bail.
"We have been assisting the police in the apprehension of suspects after the scandal was uncovered," said Wasu and Teklehana. "If we are to be probed as suspects of fraud involvement we request our freedom to pursue the case out of custody."
The Commission's investigator argued that the gravity of their failure for caution outweighed their cooperation for police.
"Though they may have assisted the police in apprehending other suspects, we request their detention, as their negligence is responsible for the fraud in the first place," asserted the investigator.
Gilded gold was found in NBE's vaults following a random check the police made several weeks ago. The swindle has cost the government over 158 million Br, according to the commission.
"In accordance with the investigator's arguments, we have found it legitimate to hold the suspects in custody for investigation," said the Bench which gave permission to investigate the suspects in custody for 14 days.
The Court has been freezing various properties belonging to the suspects and their alleged accomplices in connection with the case.
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