By KT Reporter
The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has described the September incident now knows as a Shillings 60 billion money heist, as a diversion of funds from the intended beneficiaries. The Bank says there were “two incidents involving fraudulent activity that resulted in international payments being diverted from their intended beneficiaries.”
According to the media quoting security sources, about 62 Billion Shillings (16.8 million dollars) was “stolen” by employees within the Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General’s office and wired to destinations in the UK and in Japan. According to security sources, at least 17 employees from the three institutions have since been arrested.
BoU did not confirm any details regarding the amount of money, the people involved or the intended and the unintended destinations, preferring to wait for the completion investigations.
“We anticipate that the investigative findings will comprehensively clarify the details of how these payments were initiated and processed through the BoU,” says Kenneth Egesa, BoU Director Communications and Public Relations.
He adds that once the investigation is complete, “we will provide a detailed public update. Our commitment remains unwavering: to maintain the highest standards of institutional integrity and transparency.”
As the security agencies continue with their investigations, Bank of Uganda says they also launched their own internal investigations as soon as they detected the fraud, “to fully understand the extent of these incidents.” The investigation will also help BoU to conduct a thorough process review and identify and implement steps to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
“We are actively cooperating with relevant authorities, including the Criminal Investigations Directorate of the Uganda Police Force, the Financial Intelligence Authority, and the Office of the Auditor General, to assist in their investigations,” says Egesa.
Last week, State Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Henry Musasizi, while confirming the incidents, said the funds involved were less that what the media was reporting. Sources at the ministry say the funds involved were close to 40 billion Shillings (about 11 million Dollars) and that about 7 million has since been tracked to accounts in the UK, which have since been frozen.
On the other hand, Japan was yet to agree to Uganda’s requests to freeze the funds that were wired to the East Asian country. Information revealed also suggests that the group created fake expenditures on waste management activities in Uganda, and sent the money out in the two batches-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
