Court Freezes Bank Accounts and Assets in Cosmo Trading Dispute

Jun 27 , 2026

The Federal High Court Civil Bench has ordered the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Awash Bank, Hibret Bank and Bank of Abyssinia to freeze accounts held by Cosmo Trading Plc and Haileyesus Mengistu, blocking transactions of up to 400 million Br. The order follows the House of Federation’s April 27, 2026 decision to suspend enforcement of earlier commercial rulings while it reviews a constitutional dispute over inheritance and contested business assets. The case centres on a nine-storey hotel on Africa Avenue valued at about 800 million Br. Haileyesus Mengistu and his sons, Abel and Noel, argue that the property and company shares belonged jointly to the late Rebeqa Hailu, whose estate has remained unresolved for 18 years. They claim 400 million Br as her share and allege that a 20 million Br share sale in 2017 was unauthorised. Judge Yohanes Afewerk also ordered the freezing of five vehicles and a prior payment of 2.3 million Br.