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Digital Finance Crackdown Partially Eased While Federal Probes Continue

Dec 24 , 2025

Federal authorities have moved to partially lift asset freezes imposed during a sweeping crackdown on the digital finance sector, signalling a potential recalibration in their approach to the high-stakes investigation that has roiled the burgeoning fintech industry.

The Ministry of Justice issued an order on December 23, 2025, directing banks to unfreeze the accounts of 50 individuals, including Teshome Alemayehu, CEO of YagoutPay Financial Technology S.C. The move comes just three weeks after the accounts were initially frozen on December 2 as part of a broader investigation targeting alleged financial misconduct in the sector.

Also affected by the directive were 10 digital payment gateway firms whose accounts had been restricted for nine days. The decision was formally communicated to all banks by Tsega Wakjira, director general of the Ministry’s Assets Recovery Department.

The share companies whose accounts have been unfrozen include ArifPay Financial Technologies, AddisPay Financial Technologies, FenanPay Solutions, LakiPay Financial Technologies, StarPay Financial Services, Yagout Pay, SantimPay Financial Technologies, Kacha Financial Technology, and Sinan Pay Solutions.

The move follows an intensifying federal investigation that has already led to the detention of several senior executives in of these companies. The chief executives of SantimPay, Chapa Pay and ArifPay remain in federal custody, each facing separate investigation tied to what federal investigators alleged are “significant financial irregularities.”

According to sources familiar with the investigations, the authorities are focusing on allegations of tax evasion and money laundering, offenses that have become a priority for federal authorities as they push to tighten oversight and regulate the rapidly expanding digital financial system.

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