Five senior executives from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and three chemists from the Ethiopian Geological Survey were arrested last week for their alleged involvement in a gold fraud scandal.

The NBE, which exports gold, reportedly bought 300 kilograms of fake gold from a trader. The Ethiopian Geological Survey inspects any gold the NBE buys and offers quality assurance, but an official from the survey said the trader replaced real gold with the fake gold after he had received certification.

The investigation is ongoing, and the Ethiopian federal police said they will disclose more details when it is complete.