Getu Gelete, owner of Getu Commercial Center and former general manager and shareholder of GetAs International Plc, was charged with fraud by federal prosecutors on July 23, 2010, upon a complaint from Helen Anbesso.

Helen lodged her complaint to the Addis Abeba Police Commission a few months ago, stating that she had signed an agreement with Getu in which she agreed to pay a little over 12 million Br for the transfer of a 41,930sqm plot of land. Getu previously acquired the land for real estate development from the Bole District.

After investing four million Birr in the plot in order for the transfer to take effect, the contract was not performed as agreed, according to Helen.

She was also prevented from reclaiming construction materials worth 270,000 Br from the site behind the Ayat area.

The only agreement signed between Helen and GetAs International Plc was an agency contract and there was no contract of sale with the complainant, according to a statement by Getu given to the police during the investigation in the presence of his lawyer, Million Assefa.

They denied that any investment was made or materials supplied by the complainant. Furthermore no criminal suit could be filed under circumstances of such claims and the investigation should be dropped, they said.  

The Bole branch of the Federal High Court sent the summons, delivered on Thursday, July 22, 2010, to Tesfaye Kebede, the person who posted Getu’s bail, to bring the accused before the court the following day.

However, the court adjourned the case to Wednesday, July 27, since Getu, who is said to be out of the country, was not present before the court on Friday, July 23. 

The defence lawyer also lodged a complaint on Friday to the Ministry of Justice for the criminal charges against the defendant to be dropped, which they argued were instituted contrary to the law.

By MIKIAS SEBSIBE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER