The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) has detained the Accountant General and eight more officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Uganda to help with an investigation into the disappearance of $16 million (about Shs60 billion) from the central bank.
Police Spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke disclosed the developments, saying, “We have been having an investigation into the billions of shillings that mysteriously disappeared. In the course of the investigation, we summoned nine officials from the Ministry of Finance. I wish to confirm that today nine persons were apprehended.”
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The theft, codenamed “Project Tai,” according to the information systems audit undertaken by auditing multinational PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), involved computer experts and accountants manipulating financial information inside the government’s digital cash transaction portal, the Integrated Facility Management System (IFMS).
Initially, $6.134m (Shs22.3b) was stolen early in September 2024, but for reasons yet to be known, the matter remained hushed until the International Development Authority (IDA), the actual recipient, flagged the late payment in early October. Even then, according to sources, it took another month for the ministry to call in the Auditor General’s office. Meanwhile, more heists happened.
On basis of the audit report that Dr. Atingi-Ego broke silence on the thefys, telling journalists on December 5 that: “I can tell you with confidence that there is no evidence of unauthorized access to the BoU IT systems.”
“These fraud incidents were initiated outside the BoU IT systems to divert the funds. BoU is a paying entity. You get instructions to pay, and we pay as instructed. So let me repeat: the fraud incidents were initiated outside the BoU IT systems, and instructions were received by the BoU to pay the wrong beneficiaries, leading to the subsequent diversion of the funds. Now, where the diversion took place, how, and who were involved is a subject matter of the ongoing investigation for which I cannot comment.” Atingi-Ego added
Reports say that their case files have been transferred to Nateete Police Station and Kira Division Police for further processing.
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