by Engidu Woldie
ESAT News (December 25, 2018)
The anti-corruption commission for the Oromo regional administration says 79 officials have been arrested for their alleged involvement in massive embezzlement in the region that resulted in the loss of 71 million birr ($2.6M).
The suspects include supervisors and managers for the regional saving and loans program, procurement office, roads authority and urban development offices among others.
The suspects have allegedly performed illegal payments, procurements and colluded with others to steal money.
The report by Ethiopian Television quoted the commission as saying that it has filed 20 new high level corruption charges to the courts while it also has won 30 convictions related to corruption, ranging from 3 to 21 years jail terms.
Dozens of suspects have been arrested in Ethiopia’s government major crackdown against corruption. Lead among them was the arrest of Kinfe Dagnew, the CEO of METEC, the country’s military industrial complex and other managers who are accused of squandering millions of dollars.