The Police Crimes Directorate has launched an investigation into the diversion of over UGX 51 billion meant to settle a government loan with the African Development Bank and China, which mysteriously ended up in the accounts of fraudsters in the UK and Japan.
The incident has drawn significant public attention, prompting the Bank of Uganda (BoU) leadership to address the situation for the first time. Speaking during a press briefing, Deputy Governor Michael Atingi-Ego categorically denied claims that the central bank’s systems were hacked.
“These fraud incidents were initiated outside the BoU IT systems to divert the funds,” Atingi-Ego stated.
He clarified the bank’s role as a paying entity, noting that BoU executed the transactions based on instructions it received.
“We receive instructions to pay, and we pay as directed. Unfortunately, in this case, the instructions led to payments to the wrong beneficiaries,” he explained.
The Deputy governor stated that according to instructions received 6.134 billion dollars was meant to be paid to the World Bank was paid to Road way company through NUFG bank in Japan while 8.959 billion dollars meant for the African Development Bank went through NJS international in London UK on 28th September 2024.
He further clarified that UGX 37 billion has been recovered as frozen accounts in the UK contained UGX 8 billion, now secure. Forensic analysis of seized devices and ongoing questioning of implicated officials are central to the investigation
However, most of the funds in Japan remain inaccessible due to forged documentation used by the perpetrators and efforts are underway with the Japan Domestic/ International Financial Intelligence Authority to recover the funds.
The fraudulent transactions were uncovered last month, sparking questions about the integrity of Uganda’s financial systems. While the central bank insists its systems remain secure, the police are now working to determine how the funds were misappropriated and the individuals or networks involved in orchestrating the scheme.
This incident has reignited concerns about vulnerabilities in public financial management, particularly the verification processes involved in high-value transactions. Stakeholders are calling for enhanced oversight to prevent similar occurrences.
The ongoing investigation will aim to recover the funds and hold those responsible accountable.
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