Bereket Simon and Tadesse kassa are implicated in corruption within State conglomerate, TIRET. They will appear in court in Amhara Regional State.
borkena
January 23,2019
Ethiopia arrested two former government officials, Bereket Simon (pictured right) and Tadesse Kassa (left). They were arrested today in the morning in their residences in the capital Addis Ababa.
According to a report by Amhara Mass Media Agency (AMMA), they are arrested in connection with allegations of corruption within Amhara Regional State conglomerate, TIRET.
Tadesse Kassa worked as executive director of the corporation while Bereket Simon was a board member.
Amhara Regional State Anti-Corruption Commission has issued a statement this morning regarding the arrest.
Zigale Gebeyehu, who gave press statement on behalf of the commission, reportedly said that an audit has been completed and the finding, as per AMMA, is that practices related to purchasing and selling of corporate share was problematic that it brought about loss to the corporate.
The problem is mostly linked to five companies under the umbrella of TIRET. Zigale says that audit report demonstrates that purchase of shares and companies were not in line with best practices. Due diligence and feasibility studies were not completed before company and share purchases, added ZIgale.
Also, there are suspected of allowing lone to partner companies against the regulation of the corporation and without any collateral, added Zigale Gebeyehu.
Addis Ababa police and Federal police was reportedly involved in their arrest. But seemingly they are transferred to Amhara regional state, where they will be appearing before court.
Amhara regional state anti-corruption office has stated that there are other suspects. Bereket Simon and Tadesse Kassa are arrested first on grounds that they are believed to be masterminds of corrupt practices within the conglomerate.
Bereket Simon is known to be a close confidant of the late Meles Zenawi and many Ethiopians accuse him of involvement in egregious human rights violations.
After TPLF lost control over the federal government following the election of Abiy Ahmed, Bereket Simon, who was purged from ANDM executive committee and central committee membership, spend most of his time in Tigray region.
He reportedly said that Eritrean president is behind his purger from ANDM.
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