Court orders Ayat S.C. to pay 176.5 million birr fine
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The Eighth Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court, Lideta Division, passed a huge fine against Ayat Real Estate and its founder, Ayalew Tessema, on Wednesday, after a lengthy court trial.
The court passed a 12-year sentence and levied a 3.2-million birr fine against Ayalew founder and CEO of Ayat S.C. and a 176.5-million birr fine against the company.
Apart from that, construction machinery worth some 86 million birr was ordered to be confiscated.
It can be recalled that prosecutors of the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) requested court to hand down a 3-billion birr fine against Ayat S.C. and a 79-year jail term and a 2.7-million birr fine Ayalew, who were found guilty of multiple counts of crime by the court on March 11.
According to the federal court’s decision, the share company has been fined 90,091,270 birr while Ayalew will pay 3,235,543.50 birr in fine.
Read more
