Around 1,200 people claim to have been defrauded by Askallukan Trading Plc's Promotional World Cup Campaign.

The Federal High Court, Ninth Civil Bench, awarded nearly 10.6 million Br to 282 plaintiffs in a case instituted in 10 separate court filings against Askallukan Trading Plc, while the criminal suit was further adjourned due to the absence of the first defendant and the defence lawyer.

Askallukan ran a promotional campaign from November 2009 to May 2010 for a trip to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, offering a stadium hospitality package, air and land transport, and hotel accommodation with meals for 37,582.65 Br per person. The company also claimed to have 10,000 guaranteed visas.

In addition to the 282 plaintiffs, there are several others who claim to have been defrauded that have also instituted civil suits against the company, Menna Terefe, the general manger, Girmay Gebremichael, the managing director, and two other employees, since June 2010.

"We are pleased with the way the civil bench handled our case," Dagnachew Wolle, one of the plaintiffs, told Fortune.

The plaintiffs were awarded a refund of their money and return of their passports in addition to obtaining an injunction order on a residential house, a bank account, and cars owned by the defendants.

The company, Menna, and Girmay are liable for the payment of nearly 10.6 million Br, the court ruled on Monday, August 23, 2010, in eight of the cases, and on Wednesday, August 25, in the remaining two.

The court ordered the three defendants to pay the amount with interest to be calculated from the date of payment or, in the absence of a receipt, from the time the suit was instituted.

The plaintiffs do not yet know the value of the defendants' property or how much money is in the bank account that is under injunction.

"Most of us do not know how we will get our money back, but we will go ahead with the execution proceeding as soon as possible," Dagnachew told Fortune.

The claim against the other two defendants, Girma Bekele, the company's accountant, and Dereje Bayu, an employee in the Finance and Administration Department of the company, were dropped by the court. There is no legal or contractual ground to institute the claim against them, the court held.

The claim of one plaintiff was also rejected for lack of evidence proving that he made the payment.

Girma and Dereje were the only defendants who appeared before the court to oppose the claims against them during the previous hearing. They were doing what they were told to do by the company, they had argued.

A criminal charge for fraud and undertaking an activity without a licence against Menna, Girma, Dereje, and Birhanu Lenchamo, a promoter, was instituted by federal prosecutors.

The four defendants are accused of collecting a little over 45 million Br from 1,200 people throughout the promotional campaign. No charge was filed against Girmay, as he was not apprehended.

The criminal case, which has already been adjourned twice due to Menna's absence from court for medical reasons, was further adjourned as a result of the absence of Ruth Assefa, her defence lawyer, on August 26, 2010.

Menna gave birth through a caesarean section on Wednesday, August 25, and needed medical attention, a letter from the Black Lion Hospital, which the judge read out in court, stated.

The absence of the other three defendants' lawyer, who possessed their documentary evidence, according to them, as well as the absence of five of the six defence witnesses also contributed to the adjournment.

The prosecutor requested the court to give a short adjournment before the bench is closed for a month, which led to a further adjournment, until September 2, 2010.

The large hall, which was specially designated to accommodate the attendance of the great number of people who claim to have been defrauded by the defendants, was packed.

A number of federal policemen were noticed in the area after a minor protest, prompted by the court's decision to adjourn the case for two more days, due to the absence of Menna, occurred on Tuesday, August 24, and led to the detention of some of the protesters, who were released a few hours later.