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$11.7 billion stolen from Ethiopia: Wall Street Journal

Posted on , Updated on by Negash

Ethiopian Illicit Outflows Doubled In 2009, New Report Says

By Christopher Matthews | Wall Street Journal

Ethiopia lost $11.7 billion to outflows of ill-gotten gains between 2000 and 2009, according to a coming report by Global Financial Integrity.

That’s a lot of money to lose to corruption for a country that has a per-capita GDP of just $365. In 2009, illicit money leaving the country totaled $3.26 billion, double the amount in each of the two previous years. The capital flight is also disturbing because the country received $829 million in development aid in 2008.

According to GFI economist Sarah Freitas, who co-authored the report, corruption, kickbacks and bribery accounted for the vast majority of the  increase in illicit outflows.

“The scope of Ethiopia’s capital flight is so severe that our conservative US$3.26 billion estimate greatly exceeds the US$2 billion value of Ethiopia’s total exports in 2009,” Freitas wrote in a blog post on the website of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development.

The report, titled “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries over the Decade Ending 2009,” drew on data from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on external debt and trade mis-pricing to calculate illicit capital leakage. The study, which will be released later this month, measures the illicit financial flows out of 160 different developing nations.

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries on earth as 38.9% of Ethiopians live in poverty, and life expectancy in 2009 was just 58 years.

“The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry,” Freitas wrote. “No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit capital leakage.”

23 thoughts on “$11.7 billion stolen from Ethiopia: Wall Street Journal”

  1. The 11 Billion portions was scooped up by the pedophile Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi and the 0.7 crumbs went to that hussy broad Azeb and her orgy-mentarians!!! These are sick people folks!!! And don’t tell me they are of human makings. How on this good earth you take away such an enormous amount of money from people who can afford to feed their family once a day all the time? Are you telling me that these individuals have an iota any compassion for a fellow mankind? If this report is true, it is a crime none less than a crime against humanity. What beasts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. I posted many times one year prior the last election that from 2010 to 2015 will be the looting spree administration/duration Ethiopians never seen before due to the high ranking people know that it may be their final time to stay in power and they will take anything they can touch from the country. The competition will not be what who did good job in any region of the country but who looted more from the country. After the last election everyone of the high ranking people have a license to run private personal business competing with the 90 million people and they are the sole decider of for everything the country to implement. When someone has his or her own business and making decision to compete with your own private business do you think you make a decision in favor of to destroy your own personal business for the public goods???

    Meles has to good as soon as possible and let the ruling party run by someone who has an integrity, dedication and love his people and country. The main reason I advocate Ethiopia separtion will serve each Kilil than the current system no one seems to be an account to be responsible or the members of the party do not care the well being of the country so long they are being served and treat well by Meles and Azeb. Meles and Azeb would not loot Tigray had they the leader of Tigray nation because the Tigrayans would hve killed them at the spot when they hear they are looting public wealth, but seating at the helm of so many ethnics no one cares for any other fellow ethnic Ethiopia and the union of Ethiopia. I am sure the Amhara hodams and the Oromo “ALTEGB BAY” people would not fool their own people if they were the leader of Amhara and Oromo nations respectively.

    No matter what Ethiopia union will not have honest leader and pool the poor people from their permanent homeless home and donations from all over the world years to come as long as the vast country is being ruled few people with out the voice of majorities and the voice of majority will not exist in Ethiopia if the Amhara comes to power or the Oromo, the trend is going to continue everyone will loot from the voiceless poor Ethiopians whether the wealth is being created domestically or loan or donations.

  4. Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This must be from the sale of the vast fertile land and forest to foreigners. It looks that they have sold and taken out all the money. What is remaining is the city land which they already have taken by the name of lease from the people, they will start selling to foreign investors and Meles will have big account in foreign reserve…

    mack replies:
    December 7th, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    this is the money they borrow under poor ethiopian people name and the donation they got for starving people

    Anonymous replies:
    December 9th, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    Dude when a country donate or borrow money, they constantely check how the money spent.so there is little room for imbezelment.

    Ahadu replies:
    December 11th, 2011 at 5:06 PM

    Anonymous you are the real dude who doesnot have the clue how woyanne has been using the money that has flow to Ethiopia for the last 20 years not even a fraction of it has reached the nation or its people rather the illitrate woyannes has enriched its cult members and them selves in a sky rocketing way, the yesterday hungry man from the Adua area is an overnight millionar the wife of the so called pm (crime ministers wife from tela bet komarit to billionar and it is known by every Ethiopian citizen no wondar the people of your types are highly blinded by the temorary richness which you can never pass to your kids and generations to come.

  5. as the say goes, when one is in power, get as much as one wants and there is nothing the people can do about it. I guess, they are saving it for rainy day, when the people of the nation needs it. What a wise way to govern a country. Great job by TPLF

  7. it’s amazing how fast this greedy business people wiring the money . Two month ago, i remember it was 8 billion dollars now its 11 billions. the government need to do more in money laundering . not only focusing on corrupt politician, they need to focus so called “business moguls “. Those are the obstacle of the country development and transformation . they’re bribing the government officials and bank officials in order to get ridicules amount of loan and transfer the fund to overseas . one of the criminal is the sunshine construction owner. he built 3-5 millions dollar worth of house paid in cash . where is that money came from ‘? we’ve factual evidence individual who is transferring money from Ethiopian purchase properties and business in the USA . we will provide all the info as needed . videos of corrupt officials and business owners deal and documents , you all will be surprise when you see the deal with the bank officials and the business owners . stay tuned … the video will show different bank official having lavish [arty at the Bellagio . STAY TUNED !!!

  10. How the money stolen :

    1. Keeping the remittances here in banks in US,Europe, and
    Mid-east giving beneficiaries printed money.
    2. Over-invoicing stuffs bought by government officials
    from other countries for government uses.
    3. Bribes.

    We have to devise the means how to fight these methods of robbery.

  11. Thanks Meles and Azeb. You may think you are eternal but don’t be a fool. When the air, the mind and the climate change, it would be uncontrollable like with the cunning Mubarak or the Almighty Gadaffi. Loot, baby Loot!! It is only the evening for your power although the dusk if around the corner. Do you think Mubarak/Gadaffi had thought the dusk was approaching a month before it all began????

  14. Meles and his thug associates have no future believe me western countries central banks and wall street banks are so desperate for some bail out injection money,this kinds of news from IMF and WORLD BANK which the big bankers control it behind the scene, suppose to be international org,Meles has been their puppet from day 1,and his stolen Ethiopian people wealth is parked(deposited)or invested in his masters owned bank or corporations,JP Morgan and Goldman Sacks owned almost all big banks and investment banks in the USA,EUROPE and England.When their puppets become too friendly with their arc foe China or Russia,their puppet will be a target and when the time is right their is a big price to pay,we witnessed this in recent revolutions,and i believe Meles and co are a future targets including every penny they looted from poor Ethiopian people,there is no way to hide the western masters also controlled the US ARMY,NATO,CIA,NSA,MI6,US congress and the president.

  15. I am sure this has been done by Meles and Azeb who do not love their poor people and those thugs and idiots around them who do not feel any thing about the poor people of Ethiopia except their needs – The thugs around Meles are looters, blood suckers, thieves, liars, deceives. They are gathered by meles to support his bad politics to disintegrate the people and the country. Azeb unless you steal this money how can you afford to make Muti-million dollar shopping in Europe. But you have told us that you are teaching your daughter in London by scholarship – You are blood sucker-looter of the poor people.

  17. It is interesting that the enemies of Middle Ethiopia, the enemies of Christ & Kings, and the enemies of good Amhara rule (one and the same) used to say that Emperor Haile-Selassie deposited $11 Billion in Swiss Bank. Well, the same people who told us that fictitious story are approaching that figure themselves. Whose fault it is that Woeyanes deceived us about the $11 Billion being stolen by H. Selassie, which of course has all along been a lie, and they themselves reaching that milestone themselves? Mengistu and his people are complicit because it was after all their regime who fanned the lie about the Swiss Bank in the first place. Misruling aside, the Dergue is responsible for installing Woeyane. Egypt + crocodilus niloticus begat Woeyane, a mega plunderer. What an ugly part of history.

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