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My latest for @QZ: multi billion dollar heist? On April 28th Ethiopia signed a lucrative $3.6 billion US oil refinery deal with Greencomm Technologies...an American company with no experience whatsoever in the oil industry, and run by scam artists. https://qz.com/africa/1948044/us-company-targets-ethiopias-fledgling-oil-industry-with-scheme/
~July, a whistleblower from Ethiopia's Ministry of Mines/Petroleum documented irregularities on the deal & shared them with about a dozen Ethiopian journalists shortly after @fanatelevision announced that the agreement would cost almost as much as the GERD https://www.fanabc.com/english/momp-greencom-sign-agreement-to-build-gas-plant/
Being one of them...I looked into the deal which was signed by the then Ministry of Mines Samuel Urkato @SAMUELURKATOKUR (right) & Greencom Technologies rep Emmanuel Mekuria. The company is set to build the oil refinery in the El Kuran locality of Ethiopia's Somali region.
However, after some digging into company files at a Virginia state corporate database...I learned that at the time of its signing the $3.6 billion deal...Greencomm Technologies had lost its corporate status, likely due to an inability to pay fees...and was de facto non existent.
Greencomm is led by "CEO" Nebiyu Getachew. He worked at a Virginia car dealership and is related by marriage to EBS founder and CEO Helen Mesfin. Neither he nor partner Warren Negri have ever completed a single oil related project...yet somehow they landed the lucrative deal.
"Powering the globe" claims the website of a company which had no corporate status, no listed office, no field experience and no reputation. All it had was a glitzy website which made a number of claims since proved false and misleading.
I quizzed Ministry officials to find out how on earth such a mammoth deal could be agreed with a company that had no righ to even be considered.
Officials agree that there were suspicious signs everywhere...but that prominent government officials lobbied to get the deal signed.
Officials agree that there were suspicious signs everywhere...but that prominent government officials lobbied to get the deal signed.
An official (named in article) from the state ownd Mineral, Petroleum & Biofuel Corporation...identified Ethiopia's Ambassador to the US Fitsum Arega ( @fitsumaregaa) as having written two letters of support for Greencomm Technologies, both before becoming ambassador & afterwards.
I spoke to the former Minister of Mines, Samuel Urkato (right) who signed the deal. He said "it's no longer my business" before hanging up...and the current Minister, @TakeleUma who when asked about the 3.6 billion$ deal his Ministry is in charge of...wrote "I have no clue."
Here's Ethiopian media footage of the signing ceremony and the press conference that followed. Greencomm and the government had announced that the project would also involve Korean company Hyundai E&C. But Hyundai E&C have confirmed to me that this isn't true either.
The Korean construction giant Hyundai E&C confirmed to me that they had been approached by Greencomm Technologies... but refused involvement after finding the company's record looked fishy. Meaning that either the Ministry knew about it and was complicit... or it was tricked.
In February, a report in the Guardian by @BJuweria & @TomGardner18 highlighted illness/deaths among Somali residents inhabiting areas near a Chinese oil extraction site. The Ethiopian government denied that company practices were polluting the environment. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/20/the-mystery-sickness-bringing-death-and-dismay-to-eastern-ethiopia
Dr. Ketsela Tadesse vehemently denied that Somali villagers were suffering as a result of environmental pollution by oil companies. I discovered that shortly after Dr. Ketsela (seen on the left at the April 28th deal ceremony) oversaw the Greencomm deal...he went into retirement.
Another eyebrow raiser? This is Emmanuel Mekuria who signed the deal on Greencomm's behalf. He is listed as the company's "Ethiopia business director." He's a friend of Nebiyu & used to own a jazz club in Addis. Explains the bow tie :) He doesn't know the first thing about oil.
There is much more in the article...but to conclude, this multi billion dollar scam has the country in hot water, could result in massive financial losses...and above all, may put at risk the wellbeing of Somali civilians who may live in and around the El Kuran area.
The investigation took me about four months to put together, but it wouldn't have happened without the bravery of a whistleblower who couldn't sit back and watch this show unfold. They are gems of people for us journalists to work with.
Wishing you all a good day,
-Zecharias.
Wishing you all a good day,
-Zecharias.
