Judges Rule to Continue Trial of Ex-Tiret Executives

Judges at the  Regional High Court in Bahir Dar, the seat of Amhara Regional State, ruled to continue presiding over the cases of Berket Simon and Tadesse Kassa, former executives of Tiret Corporate, who were arrested under suspected acts of corruption.

Apprehended last Wednesday in Addis Abeba at their homes by the regional police and with the assistance of the Federal Police, both were transported to Bahir Dar on the same day and detained at one of the police stations.

Berket is being held as a suspect for allegedly misusing 35 million Br of public money while he worked as board chairperson of Tiret, the business conglomerate that has affiliation with the Amhara Democratic Party. Tadesse is also accused of the same charge that he allegedly committed while running the business as a CEO.

Investigators of the Amhara Regional State Anti-Corruption Commission brought the suspects before the regional court last Friday morning. The investigators accused the suspects of allegedly misusing and squandering public treasure operating through five subsidiaries and two wings of the corporation - Tiret Social Development and Tiret Investment.

Headquartered in Bahir Dar, Tiret was established with seed money supplied by the former Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and 25 of its founding members. These individuals were prominent members of EPRDF during the armed struggle against the Marxist military government. Following the downfall of the Dergue, the assets under ANDM’s control were transferred to Tiret, which now runs subsidiary companies involved in the transport, brewery, agriculture, trading, communications and logistics businesses.

The Commission accused the suspects of allegedly ordering illegal procurements that did not follow proper bidding procedures, purchasing shares with inflated values and granting loans to non-member companies of the Corporation.

The investigators, who based their allegations on audit reports that were concluded on January 10, 2018, assert that the suspects allegedly compelled the company to enter into partnerships with five other companies and individuals without commissioning proper feasibility studies and conducting due diligence.

During the tenure of the two suspects, Tiret paid 13.9 million Br to acquire shares in LA Palma Plc; 16 million Br for Bahir Dar Motors Assembly S.C; 1.4 million Br for Beyida Sustainable Chemicals Plc; made a 70 percent payment for Jari Water Plc; and 3.4 million Br for Istanbul Gazmanove, according to the investigators.

"Even though the Corporation made payments and expenditures, none of the five companies became operational," claim the investigators.

The investigators also stated that they are probing Dashen Breweries and Juventus, which is still pending.