Three men are facing criminal charges in the Ethiopian Federal High Court for allegedly using a forged letter of credit (L/C) to transfer the equivalent of around US$3 million to a foreign bank.

South African, Micheal Matson, and Egyptian, Aimen Abdel Motaleb Mussa Issa, are charged with aggravated forgery.

Forged documents

They are partners in an Ethiopian company, Star Pipe and Fitting in which Matson is the general manager while the pair also own Dubai-based Wassew Technology.

The defendants imported plastic pipes and other goods from China and India via Ethiopian Shipping Lines and since 2012, they allegedly used forged documents to transfer money to a bank account of Wassew Technology in Dubai.

Overvaluation

The defendants allegedly defrauded the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) in foreign currency by overvaluing the bill of lading and sales invoice and keeping the balance for themselves.

An Ethiopian, Wossenalem Gebregziaber, is accused of withdrawing cash from the Kality branch of CBE as an agent of Star Pipe and Fitting.

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