The Directorate of Criminal Investigation (CID) yesterday detained nine officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development over their alleged involvement in the money heist that led to the loss of Shs60b from the central Bank of Uganda.
The detainees include; Lawrence Semakula, Accountant General,Jennifer Muhurizi-Ag Director Treasury, Mubarak Nansamba-Commissioner Treasury,Tony Yawe-Senior IT Officer, Paul Lumala-Systems Officer IT, Mark Kasuku-IT specialist, Nayebare Judith Ashaba and Deborah Kusiima.
“I can confirm that nine individuals were arrested today by our CID team,” Police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma confirmed last evening.
He added, “This investigation has been in progress, and we have now detained key officials from the Ministry of Finance for further questioning.”
Authorities yesterday indicated that additional arrests may follow as investigations develop.
BoU was last year cast in public array when it was reportedly hacked and lost Shs60b ($15.7m).
The scheme reportedly involved two suspicious transfers: $6.134 million, originally allocated to the World Bank, was instead redirected to Roadway Company Limited via MUFG Bank in Japan on September 12, 2024. USD 8.596m, intended for the African Development Fund, was fraudulently transferred to MJS International London, UK, on September 28, 2024.
It later emerged that the money heist is likely to have been orchestrated by officials from the IT department of Bank of Uganda and some other officials from the Ministry
Deputy Bank of Uganda Governor Michael Atingi-Ego has refuted claims that the Central Bank’s financial system was hacked.
Instead, he explained that fraudulent transactions were initiated externally, with deceptive payment instructions leading to funds being sent to unauthorized accounts.
“Bank of Uganda is does not initiate payments of any kind, we are a paying entity. Our job is to pay according to instructions we have received. Our system was not hacked by anyone,” the Acting BoU Governor, Mr Michael Atingi-Ego told reporters in December last year.
After detecting discrepancies, BoU launched an internal review and reported the matter to CID and the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA).
Atingi-Ego confirmed that $8.205m from the funds sent to MJS International in London had been successfully recovered and credited back to Uganda’s consolidated fund.
However, retrieving the USD 6.134 million sent to MUFG Bank in Japan has proven challenging, as the Japanese financial institution has reportedly been uncooperative.
The detained finance officials are currently being interrogated as authorities work to uncover the full extent of the fraudulent scheme. Investigators are also collaborating with international banks to recover the outstanding funds and bring those responsible to justice.
This case has raised fresh concerns about financial security and accountability within Uganda’s public sector, prompting calls for stricter oversight of government transactions.
