BY ABEBE WOLDE GIORGIS
The TPLF junta that was labeled as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian parliament recently had been engaged in money laundering, drug trafficking, holding and transferring lands illegally when it was in power for 27 years side by side with its illicit business activities. In addition, it played the leading role for capital flight through illicit trade. As a result, according to reliable sources, the nation lost up to 40 billion Dollar in the last two and a half decades.
Based on this information, one can say that illegality is a norm rather than an exception to the Junta. The current illegal trade and economic sabotages witnessed in the Capital City and other parts of the country are extensions of the previous malpractices.
According to the recent report from Ethiopian Federal Police Commission and Ethiopian Financial Intelligence Centre, the Junta in addition to engaging in military attack against the northern command of the Ethiopian National Defense force, it played the leading role in exacerbating inflation through its proxies which in turn harms the livelihood of the ordinary citizens.
While it was in power, it continued running money laundering activities through its clandestine structures stretched across the country from the top level up to the grass root. Recently, however, some of its allies used to conduct such illegal trade are discovered by the Federal police. Among others, there are major corridors in which illegal foreign currency transactions are carried out like from Addis Ababa to Togochale located in the Somali border, from Addis to Moyale located in Southern Oromiya region at the Kenyan border and the North Western corridor through Metema via Sudanese border that serve to purchase arms from black market and smuggle in to Ethiopia. Some of the culprits involved in the illegal activities are arrested by the police through detecting mechanism.
Recently for instance, the Ethiopian Federal Police Commission in collaboration with the Ethiopian Financial Intelligence Centre made operation in Addis Ababa and other towns and cracked down on 117 trading organization that served the terrorist groups as source of finance. Among the illegal money launderer organizations which were part of the network reside in abroad are Araya Zoma beauty Salon, whom the owner resides in the USA, Samuel or by his nick name Sami Dollar who reside in the USA, Taeme Merkeb who resides in the USA, Henok who resides in Washington DC, Habtom by his nick name Habtom Dollar resides in France, Elias who resides in Dubai.
Other criminals who conducted their illegal activities from South Africa made sabotage to weaken the nation’s hard currency earning capacity through remittance are Mengistu worku who resides in Telaviv Israel, Avi Fetene who resides in Israel, Aster Baltina who resides in Pretoria South Africa, Etenesh who resides in Pretoria, Jonatan Trading who resides in Johnsburg, Imu who resides in Durban South Africa, Mohamed Sheik Jemal who reside in South Africa. These people are found guilty for money laundering and the Federal Police sent their name to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to capture and handover wherever they are found.
In addition, the Federal Police calls the Ethiopian diaspora not to send their hard currency through the mentioned individuals who are source of finance to the terrorist groups that utilize the money to terrorize the people. Rather, they have to prefer the banking system or legal money transfers.
On the other development, 57 individuals suspected of money laundering who transfer money to TPLF and OLF- Shene and engaged in economic sabotage are arrested by the Federal Police. They are also suspected of inciting violence against the prevailed law and order.
According to the Federal Police and the Financial Intelligence Centre, the suspects were engaged in illegal activities in various districts of Addis Ababa by collecting and mobilizing money in order to send to the Junta and the OLF-Shene terrorist groups. Several evidences that proved their guilty are submitted to the concerned body in order to make them accountable. The suspects were also engaged in illegal trade to get money so that they send it to the terrorist groups. They have also been leaking secret information and providing logistics to the groups.
According to the report gained from the police recently, they obtained the money sent from their allies in the USA caught red-handed and arrested before they transfer the money to the terrorist Gtachew Reda who serves as spokes person of the Junta and other top officials.
Suspected individuals by their name Meresa Gebresilasie, Abebaw Kasaye, Aman Ahmed, Habtom Desalegn, Abdisa Chala and others who made secret connection with the Terrorist groups were arrested by the police. They are also found guilty of escaping the illegally obtained wealth of the Junta to abroad. In addition, those who are working in nongovernmental organizations made efforts to send materials and finance to support to the Junta via using their position in the organizations. One of the suspects is Fikadu Reda who is working in a nongovernmental organization, for instance, went to Mekele branch office undercover to give logistical support to the Junta officials and made consultation with them to ignite violence in Addis Ababa. Fortunately, the security forces that secretly following his activities arrested him as soon as he came back to Addis.
The suspects also engaged in collecting military uniforms and sending to the Junta through the Afar region secretly and again they received order from the junta to create political upheaval in the capital.
They are also found engaged in illegal activities by hoarding various foods and food related commodities and construction materials in the warehouses so that posing inflation in the capital and other towns. Moreover, they engaged in agitating citizens not to pay tax and rally for violence.
They attempted to smuggle weapons into various parts of the country purchased by the financial support obtained from abroad aiming to incite violence and ethnic conflicts in the country.
As mentioned above, the Junta used to engage in illicit business and economic activities both overtly and covertly since it took over political power to support its clandestine activities throughout the country. While presenting six months performance report of his government to the parliament last January, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that almost 113 ethnic conflicts were flared up in different parts of the country except Tigray region within two years since he came to power. As a result, thousands were displaced, hundreds lost their life and many also faced physical injury. According to the government’s report, there were secrete hands of the Junta behind the conflicts.
The junta, through its mercenaries, injected money to the warlords which obtained through illegal trade and money laundering to orchestrate the conflicts.
According to the Federal Police and the Financial Intelligence Centre, the hands of the terrorist groups immersed in the illegal business to put the nation’s economy in trouble are not fully circumvented yet. Hence, the ongoing crack down on financial network of the terrorists should be strengthened.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD AUGUST 25/ 2021
