Closed Banks: Former BoU Boss Justine Bagyenda Faces Arrest For Snubbing Meeting
Former Executive director in charge of supervision Bank of Uganda (BoU) Justine Bagyenda has skipped a parliamentary committee session investigating the closure of 7 banks.
Bagyenda has Wednesday been appearing before the parliamentary committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) to explain her role in the closure of International Credit Bank Ltd in 1998, Greenland Bank in 1999 and the Cooperative Bank in 1999.
However, the former BoU ED skipped the Friday session prompting committee chairman Abdu Katuntu to adjourn the meeting citing Bagyenda’s absence.
Bagyenda reportedly wrote to the BoU governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile informing him that she would not attend the Friday meeting as she had an engagement abroad.
“This is to inform you that I will be out of the country from the evening of November 22 to attend to some engagements which I had confirmed before receipt of your letter Ref Gov.902 dated 19/11/2018 regarding COSASE meeting,” Bagyenda said in her note to Mr Mutebile.
Abdu Katuntu, COSASE Chairman adjourned the meeting to Tuesday next week due to Bagyenda’s absence.
“We cannot go ahead with this meeting when Bagyenda is not here, I adjourn this meeting to Tuesday next week but failure for her to comply, I will issue a warrant of arrest wherever she may be,” he said adding that the warrant of arrest will automatically apply if she fails to turn up for the Tuesday meeting at 10am.
Background
Yesterday, Ms Margaret Matovu and Ms Justine Bagyenda told the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the closure of commercial banks that progressive reports on the liquidation of Cooperative Bank, International Credit Bank and Greenland Bank were submitted to the Governor. However, Mr Mutebile on Monday told Cosase that his office was never furnished with progressive reports on the three closed banks.
The unavailability of these progressive reports has now become a source of contention because they give details into how BoU downgraded assets of the three banks from Shs117b when they were closed in the 1990s to Shs19b when the central bank did a final Statement of Affairs on the defunct banks in June 2016.
An audit report before the committee indicates that because of lack of an assets movement schedule, auditors were unable to verify the change of value of assets from Shs117b by the time the three banks were closed to Shs19b as stated in BoU’s Statement of Affairs by June 30, 2017.
Mr Benedict Ssekabira, the BoU’s director for financial markets development coordination, who was the central bank’s agent in the liquidation process, insists he submitted progressive reports to the officers who variously occupied the office of executive director for supervision.
