Addis Abeba — Two agents from Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) are among 14 individuals formally charged in a major embezzlement scheme involving the alleged diversion of over 7.7 billion birr from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).
The suspects, comprising CBE employees, government officials, and private individuals, allegedly conspired to siphon billions from three internal bank accounts into dozens of private and fraudulent accounts using the bank's internal system access permissions obtained from the bank's Horro branch in western Oromia in April 2025.
Court documents filed at the Federal High Court's Lideta Criminal Bench and reviewed by Addis Standard reveal that the operation involved unauthorized withdrawals and transfers of public funds, with access privileges abused to facilitate the fraud. The charges were brought following an investigation led by the Federal Police Crime Investigation Bureau, according to the indictment.
The accused include three CBE employees, among them the former manager of the bank's Horro branch, in Shambu, Oromia, as well as two economic intelligence officers from NISS.
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Of the 14 defendants, all are currently in custody except for the 6th defendant, Negussie Emiru Gurino, of NISS Economic Intelligence Division, who remains at large.
According to the charge sheet, the illegal transfers include, among others, 4 billion birr - 2 billion split between two accounts - illegally deposited into an account under Israel Degefa Sime; 1 billion birr illegally deposited into an account under Getachew Tegegn Abadama; and 2 billion birr illegally deposited into an account registered under Molla Shiferaw Ejigu, the only name listed as the 10th defendant in the charge documents.
In total, the fraudulent transactions amounted to 7.735 billion birr involving other transactions ranging from 30 million to 500 million in birr.
Vast network of defendants
The network of the 14 defendants accused of the fraud spans multiple institutions. They include: Degu Ashenafi Beyene, Condominium Loan Follow-up Expert at CBE in Addis Abeba; Teferi Dinqesa Belete, Manager at CBE, Horro Branch, in Shambu, Oromia; and Shimelis Shiferaw, Application Officer at CBE, in Addis Abeba; as well as Mohammed Negash Gesese (aka Walelign) and Negussie Emiru Gurino, both Economic Intelligence Officers at NISS, in Addis Abeba; Gizachew Dememew Shiferaw and Mulugeta Qerealem Dessie, private employees in Addis Abeba.
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Among government employees, the accused include Gebrehana Alemu Cheru, Employment Placement Expert at Addis Abeba City Administration, Lemi Kura Labor and Skills Office; Anteneh Kassa Mekonnen, Project Preparation and Resource Mobilization Expert at Addis Abeba City Administration, Social Trust Fund Office; and Yonas Shewaye Endalemaw, Director at the same office.
In May this year, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia released a statement dismissing widespread media reports that over 7 billion birr had been stolen. The bank described the incident as an "attempted theft of a large amount of money," and claimed the suspicious transaction was "detected early" and "thwarted within minutes" by its internal control systems. CBE asserted that no money was withdrawn and denied that the attempt involved a breach of its systems. It also stated that all necessary reports had been made to the appropriate legal authorities and that the suspects were under investigation.
Despite CBE's public denial of theft, federal prosecutors have now brought forward detailed charges suggesting a wide-ranging and premeditated embezzlement scheme that implicates both financial and intelligence institutions.
