ESAT News (June 8, 2016)
The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday that the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation has agreed to pay nearly $6.5 million “to settle charges that it violated U.S. securities laws by failing to register bonds it offered and sold to U.S residents of Ethiopian descent.”
The SEC said in a press release on Wednesday that the Corporation conducted unregistered bond offering to help finance the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Abay River in Ethiopia and raised approximately $5.8 million from more than 3,100 U.S. residents from 2011 to 2014 without ever registering the bond offering with the SEC.
Officials of the Ethiopian regime have been touring cities in US and Europe for several years to sell bonds for the construction of a dam on Abay River. Many of the Ethiopians who bought the bonds did so out of fear of retaliation by the iron fist government.
“This settlement ensures that investors get all of their money back plus interest,” said Stephen L. Cohen, Associate Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
The SEC said the Corporation admitted the registration violations and agreed to pay $5,847,804 in disgorgement and $601,050.87 in prejudgment interest.