Ethiopia Arrests 99 Officials in Revenue, Customs and Labour Corruption Sweep

Crackdown targets tax fraud, fake competence certificates for overseas job seekers; forms part of a wider operation against banking, export and gold-trade offences

Ethiopia’s anti-corruption authorities have arrested 99 officials and employees drawn from the Ministry of Revenues, the Ethiopian Customs Commission and the Ministry of Labour and Skills, following a coordinated operation targeting alleged corruption networks inside the three institutions.

Of the total, 91 suspects were employees of the Ministry of Revenues and the Customs Commission. Investigators allege the group illegally reduced tax assessments, approved fraudulent payment receipts and deleted electronic records, causing significant losses to government revenue. Authorities said the suspects moved illicit funds through personal bank accounts as well as accounts belonging to relatives and associates.

Officials said the revenue and customs cluster was part of a larger set of 109 suspects identified in the investigation, of whom 91 have so far been taken into custody. Investigators separately identified large sums in accounts linked to several suspects, with individual deposits ranging from the low millions of Birr to more than 30 million Birr.

The remaining eight suspects are officials and employees of the Ministry of Labour and Skills, accused of manipulating the country’s overseas employment management system. Authorities alleged the group accepted bribes to lift suspensions imposed on recruitment agencies, issued fraudulent Certificate of Competence documents to job seekers who had not completed mandatory training, and prepared false documentation for overseas employment procedures.

Part of a broader anti-corruption push

The arrests were announced alongside a broader set of enforcement actions that government officials described as an effort to protect Ethiopia’s ongoing macroeconomic reform programme from corruption, contraband and organised economic sabotage.

Separately, authorities said they had detained 36 individuals over alleged fraud involving Commercial Bank of Ethiopia customer accounts, banned seven cryptocurrency applications accused of facilitating illegal financial transfers, and opened proceedings against 29 exporters accused of failing to repatriate export earnings. Government officials also flagged action against 38 betting companies over alleged tax evasion and illegal money transfers, and said more than 180 individuals, including government officials, security personnel and foreign nationals, are under investigation over alleged gold smuggling and contraband.

Additional cases cited include action against Ministry of Agriculture officials over the procurement of substandard fertiliser, senior Ethiopian Electric Power staff over unauthorised power-sale agreements with data-mining firms, and officials linked to illegal fuel distribution schemes.

Court proceedings continue

The suspects in the revenue, customs and labour cases have appeared before the Federal High Court, where investigators requested additional time to continue building the case. Authorities indicated the anti-corruption operation is expected to continue, with further arrests possible as the investigation proceeds.

For a revenue and customs system already under pressure to close financing gaps amid Ethiopia’s ongoing macroeconomic reform, the scale of the alleged fraud, spanning manipulated tax assessments, forged receipts and deleted records, points to structural weaknesses in tax administration and enforcement that go beyond the individuals charged.

The allegations have not yet been tested in court, and the suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.