Persecutor open files on 21 suspects over Ethiopia’s gold scandal

By Dereje Berhanu

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia- The Ethiopian Federal ethics and anti corruption commission has finished investigations and forwarded the file to the the public prosecutor on the notorious gold gate scandal that has griped the country following reports of a massive fraud committed on the Ethiopian National Bank by businesses and employees of the bank.
The persecutor on Monday and Tuesday opened the files on 21 defendants under two files with six counts of charges ranging from fraud, dereliction of duty and colluding with businesses towards unlawful gains against the defendants.

The defendants include seven NBE staff including Mr. Siefu Desta, foreign exchange director and four from the Ethiopian Geological survey in addition to businessmen.
Among the suspects the court has issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Asmare Ayalaw who operates with different aliases who has thus far eluded police and is accused of selling 59.7 kg of fake gold bricks.
On the second day of the trial the defendants requested the court their rights to bail in which the court turned down the requests on grounds that the crime they are charged with does not entitle them the right of bail and set a trial date of April 18, 2008.

Investigators also had brought forward two more alleged co-conspirators Mr. Mudin Husin and Bedin Nursema who according to the investigators had helped Mr. Mudesir Mahamed, one of the ring leaders of the alleged gold fraud in hiding 13 million birr and six gold bars. The investigators have also asked the court for a further seven day continuum to carry out investigations. In response the court granted an additional seven days for further investigation and cautioned the prosecutor to speed up the investigation.