In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Federal First Instance Court has permitted prosecutors to file criminal charges against a clergyman named Belay Mekonnen and two others. They are suspected of trying to fraudulently withdraw over $6 million from the African Union’s AU bank account at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
The African Union Bank (AU) confirmed that there was a fraudulent attempt, but it was stopped because the bank staff and the AU’s finance department acted quickly.
On April 15th, someone who was not an AU employee submitted payment orders at the bank branch in AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. These orders aimed to transfer a large amount of money for construction and water drilling work, totaling over $6 million.
The main suspect, Clergyman Belay Mekonnen, who is the deputy general manager of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church Patriarchate, along with two others named Yared Fisseha and Dhaba Genana, are accused of being part of a coordinated criminal act to defraud the African Union.
The police have been given 8 more days to investigate the suspects before the next hearing.
The Federal Police have announced that their investigation is complete. They have transferred the case files to the prosecutors at the Ministry of Justice’s Directorate of Corruption Affairs. The prosecutors have confirmed receiving the files and have requested 15 more days from the court to formally file criminal charges against the accused.
The prosecutors have informed the court that the alleged crime involved using fake documents to try to defraud the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. If convicted, the suspects could face up to 10 years in prison.
The defense lawyers objected to the additional 15 days requested by the prosecutors, arguing that the police had already conducted an investigation.
The defense lawyers also argued that a corruption case is not appropriate. Because the fraudulent documents were submitted to a foreign company’s bank account which cannot be treated under the country’s anti-corruption laws. The second and third suspects were kept in custody, even though the prosecutors did not accuse them of direct involvement in the case.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court rejected the defense team’s request for bail. The court allowed the prosecutors the 15 days they requested to file the charges. The suspects will remain in custody during this time.
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