Ethiopia: High Profile Corruption Case Finally to Go to Court
After 90 days in police custody over allegations of corruption, Melaku Fenta, the former director general of the Ethiopian Revenues & Customs Authority (ERCA), will face charges in the next 15 days. He will be tried along with most of the 63 high and mid-level tax officials and businessmen detained with him.
The arrests came as part of a recent crackdown on high level tax officials and businessmen launched by the Federal Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC), in early May 2013. The timeframe was set on Friday, August 9, 2013, when the Commission's investigators informed the Second Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court that they had released 10 people on bail. This was in addition to the six already released previously.
They also announced they have wrapped up their investigations and would be ready to file charges in 15 days. Most prominent among those released on bail was Eshetu Woldesemayat, chief attorney general of the ERCA. This decision represented a change from previous court dates when investigators repeatedly asked for more time to conduct further investigations and gather evidence. Since the case began, judges have granted up to seven time extensions for each file.
Initially, the list of detainees was presented to the court in three separate files. This eventually grew to seven, as additional suspects were arrested. It was during a court appointment for six of the seven files that investigators announced the closing of their investigation.
The list of detainees includes - tax officials, Gebrewahed W. Giorgis, former director of Low Enforcement Directorate at the ERCA; Mamo Abdi, advisor to Melaku, and Markeneh Alemayehu, former deputy director of prosecution at the ERCA.
Prominent businessmen were also jailed, including - Simachew Kebede, who runs InterContinental Addis; Ketema Kebede, major shareholder of K.K. Plc; Nega G. Egziabhere, major shareholder in Netsa Trading Plc; Fikru Maru (MD), who runs Addis Cardiac Hospital and Mihretab Abraha, a businessman and brother of former TPLF leader, Siye Abraha.
As lawyers of the detained decried the multiple continuation requests, the Commission's investigator argued that the alleged crimes are interlinked. This is despite the fact that they spanned different regions, like Oromia, Afar and the Southern Regional State. Adding, too, that they were complicated.
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