Friday, March 16, 2018

The world’s richest black person still in prison

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh last month. Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi was among a number of high-profile figures held at the hotel after a wave of arrests last year. Sheikh Amoudi has been moved, but his companies do not know where. CreditTasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
He supplies coffee to Starbucks. He owns much of Ethiopia. And he is known as “Sheikh Mo” in the Clintons’ circle.
But the gilded life of Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi took a sharp turn in November. Sheikh Amoudi, the gregarious 71-year-old son of a Yemeni businessman and his Ethiopian wife, was swept up with hundreds of billionaires, princes and other well-connected figures in what the Saudi government says is an anti-corruption campaign that has seized more than $100 billion in assets.
Many other detainees, who were initially kept at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, have been released, including Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the well-known international investor. Sheikh Amoudi’s cousin Mohammed Aboud Al Amoudi, a property developer, was also let go.
But Sheikh Amoudi, once called the world’s richest black person by Forbes, has not been freed, leaving a vast empire that employs more than 70,000 people in limbo. He controls businesses from Ethiopia, where he is the largest private employer and the most prominent backer of the authoritarian government, to Sweden, where he owns a large fuel company, to London, which he has used as a base to set up a number of companies.
“He was in the Ritz-Carlton, but we have been told by his family members that he was moved, along with others, to another hotel,” Sheikh Amoudi’s press office said in an email responding to questions. “Unfortunately we do not know where. He is in regular contact with his family and is being treated well.”
While Sheikh Amoudi lacks a princely pedigree, he is in other ways an archetype of those entangled in the kingdom’s power play: a billionaire with assets stretching across the world who had close ties to previous governments.
The late King Abdullah was a supporter of Sheikh Amoudi’s Saudi Star Agricultural Development, a sprawling farming venture in Ethiopia established to supply rice to Saudi Arabia. Such ventures are seen as strategic assets in a desert kingdom keenly aware of its agricultural limitations. While Saudi Star has had a tough time getting going, it is said to be a particular focus of the new government’s interest.
Saudi officials have declined to comment on the charges against individual detainees as well as their status, citing privacy laws.
The Saudi government has said its dragnet followed an extensive investigation by a newly formed anti-corruption committee headed by the country’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The prince, who has fashioned himself as a reformer, is in the midst of a charm offensive to bolster diplomatic and financial ties to the West and is scheduled to visit Washington this month.
The detentions, however, have been almost entirely opaque. There have been no signs of collaboration with Western law enforcement and no charges made public, leading some critics to view it as a power and money grab rather than a bona fide anti-corruption effort. Saudi officials have denied that anyone has been mistreated, but people with knowledge of the detentions have said that as many as 17 of the detainees required medical attention because of abuse, and one later died in custody.
Given the insular nature of the country and the crackdown, Saudi officials are likely to make the most headway seizing assets within their own borders. Within Sheikh Amoudi’s empire, there is much to sort through.
He moved to the kingdom as a teenager. Although there are few firm details about how a commoner came to vast wealth, he managed to forge influential connections. The most important was Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz, who served as defense minister and crown prince before his death in 2011. Sheikh Amoudi ran businesses that depended on the prince’s money and position, associates said. Another of his allies was Khalid bin Mahfouz, a billionaire who later became enmeshed in the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International in 1991, at the time one of the largest private banks in the world.
In the 1980s, Sheikh Amoudi set up Mohammed International Development Research and Organization Companies, a conglomerate known as Midroc. Early on, his biggest deal was a multibillion-dollar project to build the kingdom’s underground oil storage capacity. Engineering and construction became core businesses for Midroc, but it operates everything from pharmaceutical to furniture factories in the region, according to its website. Sheikh Amoudi also owns half of a steel company called Yanbu, and a large chain of gas stations called Naft.
Like another detainee, Sheikh Alwaleed, Sheikh Amoudi extended his reach to the United States. He donated millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation and offered his private plane to fly Bill Clinton to Ethiopia in 2011. That offer sparked debate within the foundation, leaked emails showed.
“Unless Sheikh Mo has sent us a $6 million check, this sounds crazy to do,” Amitabh Desai, the foreign policy director of the Clinton Foundation, wrote in one of the emails.
That was not the first time that Sheikh Amoudi’s name had surfaced in the United States. Three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a lawsuit by the owner of the World Trade Center described Sheikh Amoudi as a “material sponsor of international terrorism” because of his funding of controversial Islamic charities. Both sides agreed to a dismissal the next year, and a spokesman for Sheikh Amoudi attributed the suit to a case of mistaken identity.
In Ethiopia, Sheikh Amoudi’s allies portray him as a philanthropist and a champion of African growth.
“I am a Saudi investor, born in Africa, with an Ethiopian mother, of which I am proud,” he said in a speech in Washington in 2014. “I have a special relationship with my birth country by investing in all of Africa — north, south, east, west.”
Sisay Asefa, a professor at Western Michigan University, has known Sheikh Amoudi for years and set up a foundation with his support.
“He should be released immediately,” he said. Sheikh Amoudi, he added, “has transformed many lives.”
But he has also been a polarizing figure. Sheikh Amoudi’s reach in Ethiopia has been so pervasive that a 2008 State Department cable, made public by WikiLeaks, said that “nearly every enterprise of significant monetary or strategic value privatized since 1994 has passed from the ownership of the Government of Ethiopia” to “one of Al Amoudi’s companies.” That called into question the “true competitiveness of the process,” the cable said.
Sheikh Amoudi has opened his deep pockets to build a hospital in Addis Ababa and fund AIDS treatment programs. But he has also long backed the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has governed the country for more than a quarter-century, angering opposition supporters.
His loyalty to the party has even crossed borders. When a popular expatriate group in the United States called the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America invited an opposition leader to speak in 2010, Sheikh Amoudi set up a rival group.
“When he was imprisoned, it divided public opinion,” said Semahagn Gashu Abebe, an assistant professor of international studies at Endicott College. “The opposition is happy because they think it will greatly weaken the regime.”
But for Ethiopia’s governing party, he said, “it’s a loss.”
Many see Sheikh Amoudi less as a beneficent local son than a Saudi privateer. Some of his mining operations, particularly in a region of Ethiopia called Oromia, have caused resentment, protests and arrests.
“The government and people around the government would definitely miss him,” said Henok Gabisa, a visiting academic fellow at Washington and Lee University School of Law. “I’m sure people from the Oromia region would never miss him, because they feel like they were robbed of their natural resources.”

As Mr. Gabisa put it, “Literally his presence and his absence make a huge difference in Ethiopia.” Read more here 
Photo

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Recent Articles

  • Ethiopian Health Professionals Association Urges Govt to Promptly Respond to Health Workers' Demands Amid Pre-Strike Demonstrations
     Dagmawi Melnilik Hospital, which was later upgraded to a referral hospital, is the nation’s first hospital, built in 1909.Addis Standard (Addis Ababa)As health professionals across Ethiopia stage pre-strike demonstrations demanding improved salaries, benefits, and working conditions, the...
    May-13 - 2025 | More »
  • Commentary: Why Ethiopian university lecturers' strike failed: A cautionary tale for health professionals
     The moment of release of the detained teachers’ coordinators, greeted by fellow teachers awaiting their return. Photo: Provided by the writerIn 2022, Ethiopian university lecturers launched a year-long social media campaign  and subsequent threat for indefinite...
    May-13 - 2025 | More »
  • ሰባት ኢትዮጵያውያን ስደተኞችን ወደ ባሕሩ ጣሏቸው'፡ ትኩረት ያላገኘው የስደት መንገድ
     መሐመድ አብዱላሂ ሞሐሙድ 35 ዓመቱ ነው።ከጂቡቲ ወደ የመን በጀልባ ያደረገውን የስደት ጉዞ አይረሳውም። በ20ዎቹ ዕድሜ ሳለ ነበር የተሰደደው።ሶማሊያን ጥሎ የወጣው የተሻለ ሕይወት ፍለጋ ነበር።ከአፍሪካ ወደ የመን የሚደረገው ስደተኞች የሚጓዙበት መንገድ 'ምሥራቃዊው ኮሪደር' በሚል ይታወቃል።በብዛት ስደተኞች ከሚጓዙባቸው መንገዶች አንደኛው ነው። እምብዛም ግን ትኩረት አላገኘም።ይህ መንገድ በጣም አደገኛው እንደሆነም መሐመድ ይናገራል።"መንገድ ጀምረን 30 ደቂቃ...
    May-08 - 2025 | More »
  • ሐኪም በመሆኔ ያተረፍኩት ድኅነትን ነው" የኢትዮጵያ ጤና ባለሙያዎች እሮሮ እና ጥያቄ
     የደሞዝ እና የጥቅማ ጥቅም ጥያቄ ያነሱ የጤና ባለሙያዎች መንግሥት ለጥያቄዎቻቸው ምላሽ የማይሰጥ ከሆነ የሥራ ማቆም አድማ እንደሚመቱ ተናገሩ።ባለሙያዎቹ ጥያቄዎቻቸውን ለመንግሥት ማቅረባቸውን የተናገሩ ሲሆን፤ ምላሽ እንዲሰጣቸውም የ30 ቀናት ቀነ ገደብ ከሰጡ ሳምንታት ተቆጥረዋል።የጤና ባለሙያዎቹ "መኖር አቅቶናል" ያሉ ሲሆን፤ በተለያዩ መንገዶች ድምፃቸውን እያሰሙ ነው።ሐኪም ለመሆን 23 ዓመታትን በትምህርት እንዳሳለፉ ለቢቢሲ የተናገሩት ዶ/ር ይማም እንድሪስ...
    May-08 - 2025 | More »
  • በአዳማ ከተማ እየተካሄደ ነው ስለሚባለው 'አፈሳ' የነዋሪዎች ስጋት
     ከሁለት ሳምንት በፊት ጀምሮ በኦሮሚያ የተለያዩ አካባቢዎች ወጣቶች ከመንገድ እየታፈሱመሆናቸውን ወላጆች፣ ወጣቶች እና ፖለቲከኞች በተለያዩ ማኅበራዊ ሚዲያዎች ላይ እየገለፁ ነው።ቢቢሲ ያነጋገራቸው የከተማ ነዋሪዎችም በግዳጅ የታፈሱ ወጣቶችን እንደሚያውቁ እና እነርሱም ባለባቸው ስጋት የተነሳ ድንገት ከተያዝን በሚል "ገንዘብ ይዘው እንደሚንቀሳቀሱ" ተናግረዋል።ቢቢሲ ከአዲስ አበባ አንድ መቶ ኪሎ ሜትር ያህል ርቃ በምትገኘው በአዳማ ከተማ የሚገኝ እና ከመንገድ ላይ...
    May-05 - 2025 | More »
  • ሰባት ኢትዮጵያውያን ስደተኞችን ወደ ባሕሩ ጣሏቸው'፡ ትኩረት ያላገኘው የስደት መንገድ
     መሐመድ አብዱላሂ ሞሐሙድ 35 ዓመቱ ነው።ከጂቡቲ ወደ የመን በጀልባ ያደረገውን የስደት ጉዞ አይረሳውም። በ20ዎቹ ዕድሜ ሳለ ነበር የተሰደደው።ሶማሊያን ጥሎ የወጣው የተሻለ ሕይወት ፍለጋ ነበር።ከአፍሪካ ወደ የመን የሚደረገው ስደተኞች የሚጓዙበት መንገድ 'ምሥራቃዊው ኮሪደር' በሚል ይታወቃል።በብዛት ስደተኞች ከሚጓዙባቸው መንገዶች አንደኛው ነው። እምብዛም ግን ትኩረት አላገኘም።ይህ መንገድ በጣም አደገኛው እንደሆነም መሐመድ ይናገራል።"መንገድ ጀምረን 30 ደቂቃ...
    May-05 - 2025 | More »
  • Ethiopia’s civil war: what’s behind the Amhara rebellion?
     Ethiopia is in the grip of a civil war between federal government forces and the Fano, a loose alliance of ethnic-based militia in the Amhara region.This conflict in Ethiopia’s north erupted less than a year after the devastating Tigray war, which ended in...
    Apr-28 - 2025 | More »
  • በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ እየተመረተ ነው!
     በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ እየተመረተ ነው!ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት የሚገኝበት አቅም መፈጠሩን በግብርና ሚኒስቴር ዓሣ ሀብት ልማት ዴስክ ሃላፊ ዶክተር ፋሲል ዳዊት ገለጹ። ኢትዮጵያ እምቅ የዓሣ ሀብት ቢኖራትም በተለያዩ ተግዳሮቶች ምክንያት በዘርፉ ተጠቃሚ ሳትሆን መቆየቷን በግብርና ሚኒስቴር ዓሣ ሀብት ልማት ዴስክ ሃላፊ ዶክተር ፋሲል ዳዊት ተናግረዋል። በሀገር ደረጃ...
    Mar-26 - 2025 | More »
  • የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን ሊቀመንበር ደፋር ማሻሻያዎችን እና አፍሪካን የሚመሩ መፍትሄዎችን ከፒአርሲ ጋር የመጀመሪያ ስብሰባ ላይ አሳሰቡ!
     የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን ሊቀመንበር ደፋር ማሻሻያዎችን እና አፍሪካን የሚመሩ መፍትሄዎችን ከፒአርሲ ጋር የመጀመሪያ ስብሰባ ላይ አሳሰቡ!የመጀመርያው የቋሚ ተወካዮች ኮሚቴ (PRC) እና አዲስ የተሾሙት የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን አመራር አባላት ዛሬ በአዲስ አበባ ተካሂደዋል። ስብሰባውን በኤች.ኢ. ማህሙድ አሊ የሱፍ፣ የAUC ሊቀመንበር እና ኤች.ኢ. በአፍሪካ ህብረት የአንጎላ ሪፐብሊክ ቋሚ ተወካይ እና የፒአርሲ ሊቀመንበር አምባሳደር ፕሮፌሰር ሚጌል ሴሳር...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • ፀሐይ ባለበት የቫይታሚን D እጥረት ለምን?
     ለሰውነታችን ጠቃሚ የሆነው ቫይታሚን ዲ የሚገኘው በፀሐይ ጨረር አማካኝነት በተፈጥሮ ሂደት ነው። ኢትዮጵያ ዓመቱን ሙሉ የፀሐይ ብርሃንና ሙቀት የምታገኝ ሀገር ብትሆንም በቅርቡ የወጣ መረጃ ብዙዎች የቫይታሚን ዲ እጥረት እንዳለባቸው  ያመለክታል። ለምን ይሆን?ቫይታሚን ዲየቫይታሚን ዲ እጥረት በመላው ዓለም ሰዎች ላይ ስለሚታይ አሳሳቢ መሆኑ ይነገራል። በተለይ በዓመት ውስጥ የፀሐይ ብርሃንም ሆነ ሙቀቷን በውስን ወራት ብቻ በሚያገኙ የሰሜኑ ንፍቀ ክበብ...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • "እንደ አሮጌ ምንጣፍ የተጣለ" - የቻይና መንግሥት ጋዜጣ የቪኦኤ በጀት እንዲቋረጥ መወሰኑን አወደሰ!
     የቻይና መንግሥት ጋዜጣ የአሜሪካው ፕሬዝንት ዶናልድ ትራምፕ የአሜሪካ ድምፅ (ቪኦኤ) በጀት እንዲቋረጥ መወሰናቸውን አወደሰ።የአሜሪካ ድምፅ (ቪኦኤ) እና ራድዮ ፍሪ እስያ (አርኤፍኤ) በቻይና መንግሥት ዙሪያ ለዓመታት ሲዘግቡ የቆዩ ሲሆን ትራምፕ የጣቢያዎቹ በጀት እንዲቀነስ ወስነዋል።ውሳኔው የተላለፈው ባለፈው አርብ ነው። 1300 የቪኦኤ ሠራተኞች በግዴታ እረፍት እንዲወጡ ተነግሯቸዋል።ተቺዎች ውሳኔው ዲሞክራሲን ወደኋላ የሚጎትት ነው ቢሉም ግሎባል ታይምስ...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • Killings, abductions, funding shortfalls stifle WFP relief efforts across Ethiopia!
     Killings, abductions, funding shortfalls stifle WFP relief efforts across Ethiopia!Eight personnel dead as org. takes USD 30mln loan to sustain operationsThe World Food Program says security concerns are straining its ability to deliver crucial aid assistance in Ethiopia as no less than eight...
    Sept-15 - 2024 | More »
  • Ethiopia : Dialogue Commission wants gov’t to create “enabling condition
     Professor Mesfin Araya, Chief of the Dialogue Commission (Photo credit : DW Amharic)The National Dialogue Commission on Thursday presented its performance report to the parliament. Unusual about it was that this meeting took place in a hotel, not at the parliament building. The practice...
    June-30 - 2024 | More »
  • Struggles of High-Rise Living
     Located on the western outskirts of AddisAbaba, the Asko 40/60 condominium towers stand tall, promising a modern lifestyle but delivering a daily ordeal for its residents. Among them is Melat Kasa, a pregnant mother of two young children aged 4 and 6, who lives on the 13th floor. “I’ve been...
    June-30 - 2024 | More »
  • TPLF regains political legitimacy with Justice Ministry’s blessing
     NewsTPLF regains political legitimacy with Justice Ministry’s blessingThe Ministry of Justice has granted the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) the green light to register with the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) as a political party.Heads of the NEBE were informed of the...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • A father who lost 2 sons in a Boeing Max crash waits to hear if the US will prosecute the company
     Ike Riffel fears that instead of putting Boeing on trial, the government will offer the company another shot at corporate probationPhoto by: Jim Young/APProtesters hold photographs of victims of the 2019 Boeing Ethiopian Airlines crash, including Melvin Riffel, left.By: AP via Scripps...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Ethiopia’s dam fills threaten Egypt’s lifeline: Calls for international intervention
     Adel Sadawi, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and former Dean of the Institute for Research and Strategic Studies on Nile Basin Countries, commented on Ethiopia’s announcement of its readiness to carry out the fifth filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Fashion event brings Kanu, others to Ethiopia
     Former Nigerian national football team striker Nwankwo Kanu and other African former football players are in Addis Ababa to participate in the Shenen Africa Fashion Festival Week 2024Upon arrival at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, on Thursday Kanu was welcomed by Ethiopia’s...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Economic, conflict spurring human trafficking in Ethiopia: US State Department
     NewsEconomic, conflict spurring human trafficking in Ethiopia: US State DepartmentYemeni Houthis forcing Ethiopian migrants into military serviceThe US Department of State commends the Ethiopian government’s efforts to combat human trafficking but urges that more needs to be done to eliminate...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Ethiopian gov’t forces killed 27 civilians in the Amhara region
     Ethiopian gov’t forces killed 27 civilians in the Amhara regionEthiopian government forces this week reportedly killed 27 civilians, in two separate incidents,  in a latest string of extrajudicial killings in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.  The forces allegedly carried it out in a...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »

Recent Video Uploads

Subscribe Ethiopia Today Videos and Watch on You Tube

Ethiopia Today

  • Active a minute ago with many
  •  
  •  videos
Ethiopia Today bringing you recent information about Ethiopia. It bring you, news, Amharic movies,  Musics and many clips. subscribe and get many Videos on time