Top Central Bank officials are being quizzed by anti corruption units including CMI, ISO and State House team. Both Governor Emmanuel Mutebile and his deputy, Louis Kasekende are reportedly part of the scam. FILE PHOTO)
KAMPALA – State House has confirmed that a major investigation into some affairs at Bank of Uganda, including discrepancies in printing and transportation of some billions of shilling bills, is underway.
The investigation, according to reliable information obtained by this website in the last two days is being led by the Police Criminal Investigations Director Grace Akullo, who led a team of investigators that held a long day meeting at the Central Bank on Wednesday.
Ms Akullo has apparently been nominated to lead the investigation by the State House Anti-corruption Unit, led by Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema, and has enlisted the support of the Police Special Investigations Unit, now led by veteran detective Elly Womanya.
CIID Director Grace Akullo (R) shares an insight with a colleague recently. (PHOTO/File)
Without giving details, Don Wanyama, the Senior Press Secretary to the President has on Friday confirmed that the Central Bank top official are being grilled and that the State House’s Anti-corruption unit will issue official statement later on Friday, June 14.
However, according to available information, five top officials at Bank of Uganda are in trouble, and were subject of deliberations in the Wednesday meeting.
Bank of Uganda officials according to reports left the country to German where Uganda prints its cash aboard a chartered airplane to ferry the printed cash to Uganda.
However, upon arrival, this website has learnt, the delegation headed by Dr. Barenzi, the deputy director who represented Charles Malinga Akol, BoU’s Executive Director Operations who was on leave allegedly ordered for printing of over UGX 90 billion in excesses ‘without knowledge of their Bosses.’
Sources close to the controversial development say, some of the said UGX90 billion was used for purchasing goods which were as well loaded into the chartered plane.
Ferrying cash to Entebbe
Sources say at Entebbe International Airport the delegation was received by another team from BoU and the security team but two officials allegedly snubbed security and ferried the cash into their private vehicles that never reached central bank
Industry commentators say Bank of Uganda officials have had a habit of printing money off the official approved figures and that investigators believe this has been going on for a while since its believe that top cream of Bank of Uganda is involved in the scheme.
Operation specs to arrest those involved are still keep a top secret, only security directors involved in this operation are aware of who next to arrest, it is believed that the president gave a green light to this huge operation.
This website has learnt that five top officials of the bank of Uganda are being held at CMI headquarters and 60billion shillings balance has been impounded as evidence.
Enroute to Kampala
Sources say that money entered Uganda through Entebbe airport well printed and transported using Bank of Uganda currency Vans to the Central Bank, a top high-level intelligence team entered the Central Bank and arrested whoever was involved.
Another controversial area
Another area of interest for the investigators is said to be the Shs478 billion that BoU claims to have used during the receivership of Crane Bank.
A probe by parliament’s Committee on Commissions State Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) established that BoU officials over the years closed seven commercial banks without following guidelines.
They are believed to have connived to dupe some of the banks of their money. For instance some banks like cooperative bank, Greenland Bank and International Credit Bank had their assets sold at over 90 per cent discount even though some had valid documentation like land titles.
It is also believed that BoU officials took part of the UGX478 billion supposedly injected in Crane Bank Limited (CBL) while in receivership as liquidity support.
Yet the Auditor General John Muwanga while auditing the expenditure of the money found that UGX320 billion of the funds could not be accounted for.
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