KAMPALA, UGANDA – The Uganda Police have cleared Equity Bank of any wrongdoing in a fraudulent gold transaction that resulted in a loss of over UGX. 3 billion for Canadian national Clifford Potter.
Media outlets have in rceber days reported that Potter, through his lawyers Muwema & Co. Advocates, had accused Equity Bank and Stanbic Bank of failing to prevent suspicious transactions, leading to the loss of his funds. However, following further investigations, the police have found that Equity Bank complied with all Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures and obtained approvals from the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) of Uganda.
According to the police, Potter entered into a gold transaction with Stephen Bairukanga in 2016 and made payments totaling USD 1,000,000 between 2016 and 2019. However, Potter alleged that he did not receive the gold he was expecting, despite sending money to Bairukanga’s account held at Equity Bank.
The bank maintained that it followed all necessary Customer Due Diligence (CDD) practices and AML procedures, which are legally recognized rules designed to prevent criminal profits from entering the financial system. Despite this, Potter and his lawyers attempted to shift the blame to the bank, claiming that proper AML procedures were not followed.
The police investigation, which included an interview with the bank’s compliance team on July 10, 2024, found that Equity Bank had indeed carried out due diligence beyond what was required. The bank has now been absolved of any wrongdoing, and the matter is expected to be resolved between Potter and Bairukanga.