Saudi Arabia has released Ethiopia – Saudi billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali AL-Amoudi who has been in jail for corruption charges along other Saudi billionaires.
His release was announced by the CEO of Mohammed International Development Research and Organization Companies (MIDROC) Technology Group, Arega Yirdaw (PhD), who told the state broadcaster of Ethiopia ETV. The news didn’t say about the details of his release. Al Amoudi is the top investor in Ethiopia investing over two billion dollars, according to the latest report.
Al Amoudi was arrested along with 11 princes, four current ministers and top businessmen detained during the swoop by a new anti-corruption body.
Since November 2017, they were detained on alleged charges of corruption from which the Saudi government hopes to recover about 300 billion dollars. Initially he was kept at Ritz Carton Hotel in Riyadh along with Saudi princes, former high ranking government officers and business people.
Born from Ethiopian mother and Saudi father, Al Amoudi, owns many companies from the Sheraton Addis Hotel to large scale coffee farms and plantations. In addition, under MIDROC Technology Group, the billionaire owns dozens of companies in Ethiopia ranging from gold mining, flower farms to steel factory and security services.
“One of the issues included the release of Mohammed Al Amoudi. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in his Millennium Hall address later in May 2018 further assured of his return. We wish Mohammed Al Amoudi a safe return to Ethiopia,” Office of Ethiopia Prime Minister twitted, after the news of his release is announced.
Media reports show that Al Amoudi was arrested for failing to deliver his promise to Saudi government after securing $4 billion loan for producing rice in Ethiopia and feed the Saudis.
Following the news of his release, “Al Amoudi was incarcerated in Saudi prison for embezzlement. Imagine how much he might have stolen from Ethiopia where the entire government was in his pocket? Hand cuff him at Bole airport and take him to join his Metec crime partners,” twitted Jawar Mohammed, the major Oromo activist and executive director of Oromia Media Network.
In a related development, MIDROC Technology Group has also announced that it is going to give two moths salary bonus for all its around 4,000 employees and cancel all the loan the employees took from the company.
MIDROC Technology Group owns the following companies:
• MIDROC Gold Mine P.L.C. (MGOLD)
• ELFORA Agro-Industries P.L.C. (ELFORA)
• Huda Real Estate P.L.C. (HUDA)
• Kombolcha Steel Products Industry P.L.C. (KOSPI)
• Modern Building Industries P.L.C. (MBI)
• Trust Protection and Personnel Services P.L.C. (TRUST)
• Addis Home Depot P.L.C. (aHD)
• Trans Nation Airways P.L.C. (TNA)
• Addis Gas & Plastics Factory P.L.C. (aGP)
• Wanza Furnishings Industries P.L.C. (WANZA)
• Daylight Applied Technologies P.L.C. (DAYLIGHT)
• Summit Engineered Plastics Plc. (SEPCo)
• Blue Nile P.P & Craft Paper Bags Manufacturing P.L.C. (BN)
• Rainbow Exclusive Car Rental And Tour Services P.L.C. (RAINBOW)
• United Auto Maintenance Services P.L.C. (UAM)
• Unity University P.L.C. (UNITY)
• Queen’s Supermarket P.L.C. (QUEEN’S)
• ADAGO MIDROC Trading P.L.C. (ADAGO)
• Summit Partners (Ethiopia) P.L.C. (SUMMIT)
• MIDROC GEO Exploration Service P.L.C.(MGEO)
• Jittu Horticulture P.L.C.(JITTU)
• Ethiodream P.L.C.(Ethiodream)
• VISION Aluminum Plc. (VISION)
• Unlimited Packaging Plc. (Unlimited)
• MIDROC Management and Leadership Services P.L.C.
• GUBA LAFTO Consulting Architects & Engineers PLC.
Five months after Al Amoudi is arrested in Saudi Arabia, change in Ethiopia has led the country to embark on major reform, which among others included reclaiming of unused land by Addis Ababa city Administration.
Recently the city administration led by the new Deputy Mayor Takele Umma has reclaimed 55 hectares of land from MIDROC Ethiopia, a private company owned by Al-Amoudi.
Mohammed Al Amoudi’s MIDROC Ethiopia leased about 33,000 square feet of land in the heart of Addis Ababa in 2005, promising to build a city center there, but the company has failed to fulfill its promise.
Mohammed Al Amoudi is 159th in the Forbes Billionaires list with real time net worth of $1.2 billion as of 27 January 2019.