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The Federal Supreme Court First Criminal Bench
passed a guilty verdict on Assefa Abraha from the
prime minister’s offices and Beshah Azmera, former
senior general manager at the Ethiopian
Privatisation Agency on two of the four corruption
cases brought against them.
The other defendants charged under the same file are
businessmen Fistumze’ab Asgedom, who was found
guilty in one of the three cases brought against him
and Heraier Behesnilian of Hagbes, who was
pronounced guilty of the single case he faced.
The Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC)
charged Asefa, the former Agency’s Board chairman
and head of the State Enterprises Supervisory
Authority with the portfolio of minister; Beshah,
including Fistumze’ab and Heraier in August 2002.
Though the prosecutor of the Commission brought the
amended charge to the Court the same year, which the
Court used now, it was in 2001 that the Commission
placed them in custody.
Out of the four suspects, in 2006, it was only
Heraier on health grounds that was out on bail who
was not to appear before Court when it gave the a
verdict last week. The three other defendants had to
come from their remand to appear in court on Friday,
June 22, 2007, and heard their guilty verdicts.
Five years ago when the Commission brought charges
against Assefa and Beshah, it had mentioned cases
such as abuse of power by facilitating means and
ways for the two other defendants’ unlawful gains.
In four years, between 1995 and 1999, the fact that
the Privatisation Agency had sold Tayitu Hotel,
Harer Printing Press and Gullele Soap Factory to
Fitsumze’ab who happened to be Assefa’s in-law, the
Commission built cases it filed against the
suspects. According to the charges accorded by the
Commission against the defendants, “Tayutu Hotel was
sold to Fitsumze’ab at a throwaway rate of 5.2
million Br while it was assessed to be privatised at
the value of 12.1 million Br.
The charges submitted by the Commission state that
Fitsumze’ab was to pay 30pc of his due when he
signed the agreement and the remaining 70pc was to
be paid as soon as handing over took place, in July
1995. However, up until his arrest by the Commission
he had not made the 70pc payment.
Even in the case of Harer Printing Press, which
Fitsumze’ab acquired with 1.1 million Br, while
professionals assessed its worth at 2.5 million Br.
Within 10 days of the agreement, Fitsumz’ab came to
own 75pc of the shares and agreed to the payment of
40pc of these shares when the deal was signed. He,
however, delayed paying the dues for three months.
The Printing Press was unlawfully nationalised in
1975, ceasing ownership by the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church who took the case to the Agency. According to
the Commission, the selling of such property was not
appropriate. However, the Supreme Court has not
accepted all these cases and dropped these
particular charges filed against Fitsumze’ab.
The Court found Fitsumze-ab guilty of the illegal
acquisition of the Gullele Soap Factory.
When the Privatisation Agency floated the tender of
Gullele Soap Factory, businessmen such as Duguma
Hunde and Getu Gelete had their bid submitted, the
Commission’s charges read. According to the
Commission’s charges, Fitsum contended to buy only
75pc of the Factory and Duguma and Getu together
contended to acquire 100pc of the property.
However, Assefa and Beshah made their own bid.
Assefa and Beshah had to go against the decision
made by the bid committee that recommended Duguma
and Getu who were bidding to purchase 100pc of the
Factory. Fitsum had bought this Factory with 21.1
million Br. On the basis of these irregularities of
the public tender the Court found the defendants (Fitsum,
Assefa and Beshah) guilty and passed its verdict.
The other charges of which Assefa and Beshah were
found guilty by the Court, involved the 1996
purchasing of Debre Zeit’s Flour Mill that had been
acquired by the other defendant, Heraier.
The Commission’s charges in this particular case
stated that, to benefit Heraier, defendants, Assefa
and Beshah, consulted an economist of their own
choice to assess the value of the Factory rather
than working with the professionals in the various
fields. Based on the Commission charges, the Flour
Mill had been valued at 19.7 million Br. In spite of
this fact, Assefa and Beshah through a shady deal
had assessed the value at 8.6 million Br and sold
the property at an undervalued price to Heraier.
Furthermore, Herier was supposed to make the payment
of 40pc when he signed the agreement, which he paid
after 44 days and the remainder 60pc payment was to
be made within 30 days. However, he delayed payment
for 969 days and did not do anything to call off the
agreement to start afresh, the charges of the
Commission stated.
Before the final sentence will be heard, the Federal
Supreme Court adjourned until June 29, 2007, when
the defendants are allowed to deliever their final
statement, along with the prosecutor on the
sentence. According to legal experts, if convicted
under the charges the suspects are accused, the
sentence could be at least 10 years of imprisonment.
Assefa who is the younger brother of the former
senior Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), Seyie
Abraha, could as well face another charge in the
same Court. In the charges of his older brother,
Seye, and the former Prime Minister, Tamrat Layne,
Assefa was accused of assisting another person,
Kahsay Abay, in 1996 to import five used trailers
without having paid tax. The Court adjourned the
date to hear these cases.
When Assefa was first arrested in 2001, his older
brother Seye, together with his younger brothers,
Mehiretab and Fiseha, as well as his sister, Temnit,
were also arrested. However, the Court had set free
the latter three, two years ago.
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