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I am
baffled by the numerous news stories published on your
weekly on the discovery and seizure of bogus gold allegedly
purchased or deposited by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE)
that turned out to be gilded steel. Not surprisingly, the
investigation, arraignment and prosecution of suspects –
although the talk of the town - has come to be a tough job,
particularly for newsmen and women, law enforcement
agencies, courts and politicians.
No
wonder; gold belongs amongst highly valued items and perhaps
the most precious treasures for ordinary Ethiopians. It is
not uncommon that our fathers and mothers buy jewellery made
from gold, wear it on most important occasions such as
wedding and holidays and put it in the most secured place
available.
Our
parents not only use personal golden jewellery for the
purpose of ornaments. They also keep it for times of
material distress, abject poverty or offer it as a gift for
the achievements of their most distinguished and favourite
sons or daughters.
The
arrest, investigation, prosecution, trial and conviction of
any person are very passionate, attractive, interesting and
enthusiastic to write and talk about, where it involves
gold. Criminal charges that mention alleged purchase, sale
or even preparation for the withdrawal of gold to or from
banks or other institutions are highly explosive that spare
no sympathy for the suspect to such an extent that it
discourages any unbiased consideration of petitions, while
it encourages the complacency of officials to wait and see
until the ordeals of the innocent victim reach utter
frustration.
Unsubstantiated charges framed in respect of gold are also
very much preferable to easily ruin and destroy the
acceptance and reputation of a long time foe or rival, brand
honestly serving public servants as corrupt, and throw them
to jail, remove from employment, magnetise the attention of
even disinterested followers and perform all acts of
indecent and obsequious flattery to make the case presented
to court look realistic.
I am a
living witness of such ordeals. One of the three charges the
Federal Ethics and Anticorruption Commission (FEACC) filed
against me three years ago alleged: “[The accused], with the
intent to procure for others unlawful advantage and damage
government and public interest, . . . issued unlawful legal
advice and ordered the Finance Department of the Customs
Authority for the sale of [46Kg gold bullion to the National
Bank of Ethiopia] and sold the exhibit [to the latter] which
was supposed to wait unsold until the competent court so
instructed thereby abusing the power vested on him contrary
to article 23 (1) (A) (B) and (2) of the revised special
penal code of Ethiopia.”
As
there has never been any previous or even current usage in
the Ethiopian judiciary to deposit any kind of exhibits, be
it gold or otherwise, “in a safe place” within the office of
court registrar, notwithstanding the mandatory requirement
of Article 97 of the Ethiopian Criminal Procedure Code and
the “unparalleled” court reforms, in my case, the Commission
hoped and even insisted that the gold bullion should have
been kept under the custody of the exhibit officer of the
Federal Police Criminal Investigation Bureau that has now
become the subject of the Commission’s investigation,
judging from your news story headlined, “Yet More Phoney
Gold Found in NBE Vaults” [Volume 8, Number 407, February
17, 2008].
However, much to the disappointment of all concerned or
shouldered with the immense responsibility of creating and
providing information of my “criminal acts”, arrest without
court warrant, detention, investigation, prosecution, trial,
and all other sufferings, the gold bullion in my case,
ceased to be under customs possession more than a year
before I was formally charged.
To make
matters worse, to a written request made by the Commissioner
of the FEACC on the “current status of the 46Kg gold
bullion”, a couple of days after my detention, the Customs
Authority replied that a total of 64,855.46 gram gold,
including the controversial 46Kg, had been handed over,
pursuant to my legal advice, to NBE against the payment of
3.7 million Br, which accounted half of the face value of
the gold.
More
than five months later - after I was jailed and dragged in
to a point less but vengeful legal wrangling - NBE informed
the Customs Authority (in a letter dated February 24, 2006)
the total settlement of the remaining 50pc - i.e. 3.1
million Br.
The
letter noted additionally; “. . . that the gold was taken to
the Bank’s gold smith client, Argore House, in Switzerland,
and after examination, the finding confirmed that [out of
the 64,855.46g gold the bank bought from the Customs
Authority], 91.78pc was discovered to be pure gold, 6.8pc
silver and 1.42pc out of precious minerals.”
As a
result, after necessary deductions, including the 24,410 Br
charge for the examination of the gold and related matters
as well as the 74,992.79 Br commission paid to a bank, NBE
credited the outstanding proceed of the gold in the accounts
of the Authority maintained with the first. NBE also praised
and applauded the Authority’s bold measure to seize,
handover and offer for sale the gold, although I had to
languish in prison for yet another 19 months before I win
back my liberty for “wrongly advising or ordering” my office
to sale the same gold.
The
64,855.46g gold sold to NBE according to my legal advice -
or instruction - was issued based on the provisions of
Customs Proclamation Number 60/1997 as amended, NBE’s
Directive on the Control and Transaction in Gold (CTG)
Number 001/1997 and the written instruction of the Governor
on the purchase of gold seized by the Authority.
I have
now realised that CTG Number 001/1997, the directive and the
foregoing procedures on gold purchase, examination and
payment modalities of NBE, supposedly proved cumbersome and
adversely affected private “gold suppliers” or “investors”
so much so that the later were prevented from getting
efficient services. Therefore, the directive and procedures
were repealed and supplanted by another directives and
procedures that ensured “rationality, efficiency,
accountability and transparency” but ironically subjected
the central bank and the public not only to self-deceptions
and hypocrisy but to massive daylight robbery by impostors.
It was
sad to me that while the foregoing charge filed against me
was repeatedly and widely covered by government and the
private press - including your newspaper - neither NBE nor
my own office and the supervising ministry, the Ministry of
Revenues (MoR), have attempted to tell the truth. As a
result, these three public institutions and their current
leaderships (with few exception), were overly complacent
when I was desperately defending charges against me and
endured the painful and agonizing ordeals at court and in
jail for more than two years. Subsequently, I now face the
grim reality of joblessness after my release.
Despite
the foregoing charge, culminated with my acquittal following
no case motion ruling and the reconfirmation of the
acquittal ruling after the appeal the Commission lodged to
the appellate Court, I am still carrying the shame and scars
of lashes inflicted on me for serving my country and its
people.
What is
more, while I was honoured with jail, marathon trials,
joblessness and family break up for defending and protecting
public and government revenue interests, the government and
the supervising Ministry have been busy decorating suspects
of phoney gold vendors for outstanding export and tax
payment record.
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