Suspected Businessman Appears Before Court

 Addis Ababa, July 18 (ENA) an individual who is alleged to have borrowed 22 million Birr from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia with out following legal loan procedures appeared before the Federal Court here on Tuesday after being tracked down in Djibouti.

    Sami Yesuf, who is also accused of buying 156,000 quintals of sugar with out auction, was on the run since police launched an investigation on leading businessmen, sugar factory and bank employees who are suspected to have been involved in corruption, police said. 

     Police told the court that the suspect, who escaped to Djibouti via Somali, was extradited to the police by the Djiboutian security forces in accordance with security agreement Ethiopia and Djibouti signed earlier.

     The police also told the court that they were investigating the relations the suspect has with the  accused bank and sugar factory officials regarding the  loan he had obtained from the bank and the purchase of  the stated quintals of sugar.

     The lawyer of the defendant has told the court on his  part that Yesuf went to Djibouti not to escape from the  investigation but because he has a Djiboutian green card.

     He also requested the court for the release of the  defendant as all the required documents were at the hands  of police.

  The court on its part adjourned the trial for July 21st.

 END