By Frank Kamuntu
The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has clarified the recent cyber heist of Ugx62 billion, saying this money was fraudulently diverted from international payments intended for legitimate beneficiaries.
Sources reportedly revealed that the $16m million was criminally transferred from BoU accounts to foreign banks in countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom (UK) and there was a handwork of staff at the central bank and Ministry of Finance.
The Central Bank says above fraudulent activities led to payments being diverted from their rightful recipients and that the specifics of the heist remain unknown until the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) and Office of the Auditor General conclude the investigations.
“We anticipate that the investigative findings will comprehensively clarify the details of how these payments were initiated and processed through the BOU. Once the investigation is complete, we will provide a detailed public update,” BoU Director for Communications and Public Relations, Kenneth Egesa stated in a statement.
BoU says has initiated a comprehensive internal investigation to:
- Assess the Scope of the Incidents: Understand the full extent of the fraud.
- Review Processes: Evaluate current payment systems and processes to identify any vulnerabilities.
- Implement Safeguards: Introduce measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
These come at a time when the police’s Directorate of Interpol and International Relations has reportedly written to its counterpart agencies in England and Japan to assist in establishing the identities of individuals [and companies] who received the coded wire transfers from the Bank of Uganda but unfortunately, it is said that this has not yielded any positive response for Ugandan counterparts.
Meanwhile, as the investigations progress, stakeholders who are taxpayers await a comprehensive report detailing the findings and the preventive steps BoU will take to secure Uganda’s financial systems.
