Electric Vehicle Sales Scheme Draws Expanding Fraud Probe

Mar 28 , 2026. By NAHOM AYELE ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

An alleged fraud scheme involving electric vehicle imports has drawn in more than 1,400 victims and several public figures. Authorities estimate damages approaching 1.7 billion Br, driven by advance payments for vehicles that were never delivered. The company is accused of misrepresenting inventory, partnerships, and delivery timelines. Promotional endorsements played a central role in attracting buyers. The investigation continues to expand as more individuals are identified.

What began as a promise to put affordable electric cars within reach of buyers has turned into an allegedly widening criminal case that has stretched beyond one company and its founders to a circle of artists, promoters and social-media personalities accused of helping sell credibility. Daniel Yohannes, co-founder of Fintech Investment Plc, has been charged by federal prosecutors with fraud allegedly committed through computer systems. Federal Police have held him in custody since February 17, 2026, while the investigation continues.

An electric-vehicle scheme federal investigators allege drew in more than 1,430 people, collected nearly 1.7 billion Br in upfront, and used celebrity-backed promotion to persuade buyers that the offer was real. According to police, the investigation has widened because the company's marketing machine was not incidental to the alleged scheme. Several public figures are under investigation for promoting the company through advertising campaigns and social media content that investigators allege was “exaggerated and misleading.”

Those detained at the Federal Police Criminal Investigation Bureau, on Mozambique St., near Genet Hotel, include Serawit Fikre, an advertising and film guru; Daniel Tegegn, actor and television personality; Yigerem Dejene and Solomon Bogale both actors; Abraham Gizaw, a businessman known for organising events; Mensur Jemal, a TikTok personality; and, Khalid Nasir, founder of the Wendim Khalid Foundation. According to federal investigators, the inquiry is likely to widen further as they probe how the campaign helped buyers treat the company’s claims about supply, financing, delivery and timing as credible.

Fintech Investment Plc was incorporated in 2024 by Daniel and his associate, Girmay Teklemichael, with a registered capital of seven million Birr. The company has been engaged in wholesale import and export activities, particularly in the import and sale of vehicles and spare parts. Prosecutors alleged that the lawful corporate shell was instead "used as the front for organised fraud."

In public promotional broadcasts, Fintech Investment presented itself as the exclusive importer of BYD Seagull Flying Version electric vehicles in Ethiopia and promoted what it called an “affordable and accessible” scheme. Prospective buyers were told they could secure a vehicle by paying about half the price, around 950,000 Br, upfront, and settling the balance over five years without interest. The cars, the company claimed, would be delivered within three months. Buyers were also told they would receive a five-year insurance guarantee through Tsehay Insurance S.C., together with bank-linked financing arrangements.

According to federal prosecutors, those claims were false. They alleged that the company had no contractual relationship with the Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturer BYD, despite claiming it did, and that its promises for delivery, financing, and insurance constituted "a coordinated effort to defraud the public." The company's founders solicited advances from 950,000 Br to 1.8 million Br for each vehicle.

Federal prosecutors argued that credibility was manufactured as carefully as the sales pitch. In a statement posted on social media, Federal Police said people involved in promoting the scheme received BYD Song Plus vehicles, valued at about eight million Birr each, in return for their participation. According to police, investigators are trying to identify and apprehend additional suspects (artists and advertising professionals) allegedly involved in "the fraud".

According to federal investigators, the company also tried to bolster its public image by importing 148 vehicles through Djibouti, around 100 of which were delivered to selected individuals. However, prosecutors claim the company later told media outlets that it had delivered 520 vehicles, "a figure unsupported by evidence." Federal investigators alleged that Daniel and Girmay told clients that 400 vehicles were waiting at the Port of Djibouti for shipment when no such vehicles were there. Police claim "vehicles gathered from various sources were displayed at Meskel Square to create the impression that they had been imported by the company."

For prosecutors, the case is not only about false promises but about repetition. They say Daniel had previously established ventures, including Hello Taxi, through which he allegedly collected advance payments of as much as 200,000 Br from more than 5,000 people, totalling over 600 million Br, without providing the promised services.

Prosecutors portray a case in which marketing, spectacle and partial delivery were used to sustain confidence and keep money coming in steadily. They have filed 19 counts of fraud based on identified victims and documented transactions, while maintaining that the total number of alleged victims is far higher. According to the police, additional suspects remain at large, including Girmay, whom they are seeking to apprehend.

Girmay had faced earlier criminal proceedings for his role in a scheme in which he collected close to 38 million Br, promising to arrange travel for Ethiopian soccer spectators to the World Cup South Africa hosted in 2010. The indictment that was filed by prosecutors disclosed that Girmay was a fugitive before he was extradited through Interpol and subsequently convicted.

PUBLISHED ON Mar 28,2026 [ VOL 26 , NO 1352]