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And now for something slightly different....counterfiet gold

by Elizabeth Blunt
BBC News, Addis Ababa


Twenty-six people are under arrest over the discovery of 90kg (14 stone) of fake gold in the vaults of Ethiopia's central bank, a senior official says.
The fraud was discovered after some of the supposed gold was sent to South Africa, where it was found to be gold-plated steel. The value of the missing gold is around $16m for just one case.
Those held are expected to be charged in the next couple of weeks.
Rumours have been flying around the capital Addis Ababa about what happened to the real gold and who was to blame.
Those being held include officials of the national bank, said Berhanu Assefa, a spokesman for Ethiopia's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
The commission has been investigating the case for three months along with Ethiopian police and intelligence officials.
"Around 26 are under arrest - seven from the national bank of Ethiopia, four from the Ethiopian Geological Survey and 15 businessmen and their collaborators have been arrested," Mr Assefa said.
"No-one has yet been charged - we expect that... our prosecutor will charge them."

The first hint that something was wrong reportedly came when the Ethiopian central bank exported a consignment of gold bars to South Africa.
The South Africans sent them back, complaining that they had been sold gilded steel.
An investigation revealed that the bank had bought a consignment of fake gold from a supplier, who is now under arrest.

The value of the missing gold was around 158m Ethiopian birr, or $16m for just one of the missing cases, he said, adding this was a huge amount for a poor country such as Ethiopia.

Comments

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    fcfc Posts: 12,789 ✭✭✭
    alas, that is what a drill is for when picking out a bar from the pile
    at random.
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    CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
    hell, a magnet would have worked.....
    LOL
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
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    Time to put the Ark on E-bay (sorry couldn't resist)
    That is pretty bad..
    I had a Saudi freind tell me once the biggest differnce between the US and the World is in the US the government steals 2% and gives back to the people 98%, while in the middle east (and most of the rest of the world) the government steals 98% and gives back 2%. I don't know much about the laws in Ethopia, but they don't play nice. I would say some people are about to have a very bad day.

    "I am sorry you are unhappy with the care you recieved, is their anything I can do for you right now, how about some high speed lead therapy?" - A qoute from my wife's nursing forum

    "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." – Thomas Jefferson
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    JulioJulio Posts: 2,501
    I'm innoncent, I've never even been to Ethopia.

    I don't think I will be purchasing any Ethopian Gold. image. jws
    image
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    BECOKABECOKA Posts: 16,957 ✭✭✭
    Seems like they would have been better off not trying to scam anyone and just doing their job for a paycheck. image
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    kiyotekiyote Posts: 5,568 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wow...

    I've seen fake Ethiopian gold bars on sale on Ebay for about $20 before-- I just bet these were used to show rubes that "Yes, indeed, we have the gold that we want to move to you here, in our vault, please send up $5,000 so we can do this."

    "I'll split the atom! I am the fifth dimension! I am the eighth wonder of the world!" -Gef the talking mongoose.
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    GrumpyEdGrumpyEd Posts: 4,749 ✭✭✭
    Yea, a magnet or scale would help image
    Ed
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    TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 43,849 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Gilded Steel and Gelded Stealers.
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    291fifth291fifth Posts: 23,942 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Back when I was stationed in Ethiopia Haile Selassie was still Emperor. I'll bet they wouldn't have tried pulling a stunt like that back then (1971.)
    All glory is fleeting.
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    BlindedByEgoBlindedByEgo Posts: 10,754 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That's gotta hurt. For a country which survives on an under-four $billion dollar budget, 15-20 $million is a big chunk to lose from reserves.

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