Four Suspects Arrested for Intimidation and Fraud Under Guise of Property Restitution Law
Four individuals, posing as government officials, intimidated a wealthy person, demanding 5 million birr and receiving a 1 million birr check. They were arrested and brought to court, with investigations ongoing.
www.freepik.com
'Your property will be confiscated' – Four suspects who intimidated a wealthy individual and collected money via check have been brought to court.
The suspects were apprehended by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and the Federal Police.
The suspects, claiming to be employees of the Prime Minister's Office and the Financial Security Bureau, intimidated a wealthy individual, demanding 5 million birr and receiving a 1 million birr check before being caught.
The suspects have appeared in various court records, and their case has been reviewed.
The suspects presented at the Lideta Division of the Federal High Court are:
Inspector Solomon Kassa, head of security at the Modjo Dry Port under the Federal Police Commission;
Tesfa Hatamu Gemtesa, a private sector worker;
Juwar Awel Jemal; and
Kule Guyo Boru, an IT expert at the Federal Police Commission.
The suspects, operating under the guise of the new property restitution law, which had not yet been implemented, contacted the owner of "Dezert Trading PLC," Mr. Biniam Hader, and his representative, Manager Mohammed Ismail Ali, via phone.
Starting from January 5, 2017, they met the wealthy individuals in person on various days, introducing themselves as employees of the Prime Minister's Office and the Intelligence Security Bureau.
They threatened, saying, "Under the new property restitution law, your property will be confiscated, and your bank account activities will be investigated and frozen."
To avoid this, they demanded 5 million birr, initially collecting 20,000 birr via bank transfer and a 1 million birr check at the Bole Michael Anwar Restaurant in the Bole Sub-City of Addis Ababa. They were caught red-handed by security forces monitoring the operation, as disclosed by the Federal Police investigator.
The investigator stated that the suspects are currently under investigation for corruption, and Inspector Solomon Kassa's investigation file has been submitted to the prosecutor.
The prosecutor from the Ministry of Justice's Anti-Corruption Directorate presented the case at the court, requesting a 15-day extension to file charges.
Additionally, the prosecutor argued that the crime, given the amount of money involved or the damage caused, warrants a sentence of over 10 years and requested that the suspect remain in custody until charges are filed.
The suspect opposed the prosecutor's request and asked to be released on bail.
After reviewing the arguments, the court rejected the suspect's bail request and granted the prosecutor a nine-day extension to file charges.
Sources
The following sources were used to verify the information in this article. You can verify the information by visiting the links below.
