AL-AMOUDI>>>>>>>MELES <<<<<<< TAMRAT LAYNIE

This is a chronicle of the tip of the iceberg.

Why did Al Amoudi and Meles Zenawi need each other so
badly?

Money? Power? Blood? Guilt? or All?

There was once a time when Meles envied Tamrat Laynie when he mistakenly thought that being president was better than prime minister. However, Tamrat had much more say on the day-to-day issues of money and power over the ministries than Meles who wanted to have it all just like now when he is licking to the last bit of the ever-shrinking candy.

So it was in the mid 1990s while TPLF/EPRDF was in its heydays. At the time, His Excellency, the mother of Ethiopian Corruption, Mr. AL-AMOUDI was beginning his myriad investments and construction of his Sheraton Hotel and numerous other projects. According to government officials in Ethiopia, some say the money involved was HUGE to say the least. However, Mr. Al-Amoudi began his work in Ethiopia by siphoning off millions of public money in tax dues to the government of Ethiopia. Thus, Al Amoudi who ably covered the eyes of the corrupt EPRDF officials who regretted their lost young lives and greedily clamored for money at any rate, unleashed his bribery. He thus immersed in selling the tax free construction money he falsely imported for use for the Sheraton Hotel as well as for the uses of the construction by the then Al Tad Construction. Al Amoudi also played the role of the moneychanger by winning contracts and bids from the government (easily awarded by his protectors) and funneling it back into the pockets of EPRDF officials (Meles and Co.) For this reason, Al Amoudi used any and all means under the sun to satisfy the needs of his protectors while at the same time blinding the eyes of innocents and the rumor mills by portraying himself as a person who cares for society and appearing as philanthropy-maniac. Al Amoudi began throwing drops of his loot by giving his money in his disinformation campaign to appear as the one who is on the giving side. An official in the Ministry of Mines joked that Al Amoudis method of corruption comes not after he secured his profits. He just gives out gifts before he even gets any business with official. That way he would have everything on his side when he has an affair in that office after months or years.

However, the turf between Tamirat Laynie (who landed on the prime ministerial position to the chagrin of Meles and the TPLF) and Meles grew because of the lesser benefits and networking Meles received. Besides, Tamirat wrongly thought that he was also a rightful co-owner of EPRDFs loot and has freehand in misappropriating like his boss TPLF, which nationalized the wealth of the Ethiopian people to build the dream empire of Tigrean Companies.

With this in mind, Meles had to devise a way of curbing the growing influence of Tamirat by sending him to prison. In the meantime, Al Amoudi was embroiled in a massive bribery and kickback that was beyond what the Ethiopian economy could burden. He and his cohorts were engaged in a massive tax evasion and exploiting the investment promotion loops to import massive amount of goods under the cover of construction and sell them in expensive markets garnering hundreds of millions of birr. He also bought and won unaccounted public corporations through the privatization scheme that was rightly labeled as Alamoudinaization of public wealth. It was at this time that Tamirat and Al Amoudi fell between Meles and the late Kinfe Gebremedhins jaws. In the mid 1990s Al Amoudi became a subject of investigation by the Federal Police and the Ministry
of Justice for a corruption of unprecedented nature. Based on tax evasion and corrupt purchases of government corporations, the authorities, under the then minister Mahteme Solomon and deputy minister Zereu Meles investigated the corruption claims against Al Amoudi. There was information at the time that Tamirat promised to quash the charges against Al Amoudi and receive a cash amount of around 16 million, which was later found in Tamirats account in a Swiss bank.

Thus, Tamirat through the person he appointed as minister of justice, Mahteme Solomon closed the investigation against Al Amoudi. (Mahteme Solomon is the brother of artist Jemanesh Solomon, who was a girlfriend of the ANDM defector Andargashew Tsigie) This act of bribery by Al Amoudi was later used to send ONLY Tamirat to prison, since Meles exploited the situation to garner millions of birr by freeing the greatest criminal, Al Amoudi.

So what did Meles do? He did not reopen the criminal and corruption investigation against Al Amoudi but extorted Al Amoudi that he could anytime do whatever he wasnts unless Al Amoudi serves the benefits of Meles. Thus, Al Amoudi was told by Meles that the bribe money given to Tamirat (and Mahteme? and others) be fabricated as money borrowed by Tamirat for government use. Here is the trick money borrowed for government use is not a bribe, so why did Tamirat got a conviction. But Meles wanted to free Al Amoudi. Bribe is a crime committed by two persons the giver and the taker. If Meles accused Tamirat of bribery, then his friend and moneychanger Al Amoudi would also go to prison. Thus, Meles advised that Al Amoudi would be a witness against Tamirat if he wants to save his life from prison. It is said that Meles and the late deputy minister of justice, who orchestrated the charges on Tamirat (and on Professor Asrat, Dr Taye, officials of the OLF ….etc), received untold amount of money from Al Amoudi who went free through all this corruption. Thus, the money Tamirat borrowed from Al Amoudi was returned to His Excellency Al Amoudi and Tamirat was sent to prison with the help of money and power.

Al Amoudi is a criminal as is Meles. They are embezzling the wealth of the people. Al Amoudi knows that Meles is opportunistic who could sell his make-believe revolutionary democracy religion for a cent. Al Amoudi and Meles are friends over money, blood, power and they need to cover each others backs. So why wonder when Al Amoudi tries to save Meles at any rate. Because he is covering him from criminal conviction and since both are beneficiaries of a system that is in twilight of its days.

The fall of Meles would bring many more truths to the surface and people should stand with the truth. It is the beginning of a healing time. Meles has garnered TOO,OOO,OOO much money that he would not regret his fall. He is happy that those intelligent people who know all about his dirt self die like did Kinfe Gebremedhin.

Time is always on truths side.

Ewnet Zelalem
ewnet_zelalem@yahoo.com
June 03, 2005