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Details emerge as Finance Ministry breaks silence on staff held in Shs60b BoU Heist

At least nine Ministry of Finance officials are in police custody to assist with investigations into the theft of billions of shillings at the Bank of Uganda last year (Photo/DailyMonitor)

Kampala, (UG):- The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has confirmed the arrest of several staff members from the Accountant General’s Office (AGO) as part of ongoing investigations into the Shs60 billion scandal at the Bank of Uganda.

The officials implicated include Mr Lawrence Semakula, the Accountant General, Mr Bephar Nayabare, in charge of the Ministry’s Management Systems, Ms Jennifer Muhuruzi, Acting Director of Treasury, and Mubarak Nasamba, Commissioner Treasury.

Others are; Tony Yawe, a Senior IT Officer, Judith Ashaba, an Accountant, Deborah Kusima, a Senior Accountant, Paul Lumala, the IT Systems Officer and Mark Kasuku, an IT Specialist.

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In an official statement released Tuesday, February 04, 2025, hours after the arrest of the implicated officials, the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi confirmed that the the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is truly concluding the investigations regarding the rocking heist.

“The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development wishes to inform the general public, all other Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Local Governments, as well as the Development Partners that due to ongoing investigations relating to some operations at the Treasury, some officers attached to the Accountant General’s Office (AGO) were summoned and detained by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to facilitate the conclusion of the investigations,” Ggoobi stated.

“The Ministry has provided the investigating authorities full support and ensured that all the concerned officers fully cooperate as required,” the statement added.

Despite the arrests, Ggoobi emphasized that the Ministry’s services, including those provided by the AGO, are operating without disruption. “We wish to assure everyone concerned that all our services, including those provided by the AGO, are operating normally. More information will be provided in due course,” he noted.

The development comes amid mounting public concern over the alleged misappropriation of funds at the Bank of Uganda, with calls for accountability and transparency in the management of public finances.

What You Need to Know?

The heist, according to the information systems audit codenamed “Project Tai” undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), involved computer experts and accountants manipulating financial information inside the government’s digital cash transaction portal, the Integrated Facility Management System (IFMS), with the stroke of a few keys on the computer.

In the multi-billion heist, a payment of $6.134 million (Shs22.3 billion) meant for the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA); which provides concessional credit to the world’s poorest countries was instead redirected to a bank account in Tokyo belonging to a private company, Roadway Company Ltd.

Similarly, a payment of $8,596,824 (Shs31.2 billion) intended for the African Development Bank’s African Development Fund (AFD) was instead transferred to a bank account in London for another private company, MJS International.

The $6.134m was wired on September 10, and the $8.596m transaction effected on September 26, according to a highly confidential December 3, 2024 information systems audit report shared with the Bank of Uganda (BoU) Deputy Governor Michael Atingi-Ego.

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